Posted on 25 May 2026
China's rebar production picked up further this week, as Mysteel's latest survey among the 137 steel mills indicated that their combined output of the long steel item during the week of May 14-20 rose by 9.8% or 197,400 tonnes on week to register 2.21 million tonnes, the highest level since early August last year.
During the survey week, the rebar rolling capacity utilization rate among these sampled mills averaged 48.5% during the same period, higher by 4.3 percentage points on week, while the average operational rate also gained by 1 percentage point on week to 42%.
Some steelmakers ramped up rebar production by allocating more hot metal to the long steel item, while others also restarted some rolling mills after finishing overhauls. By province, steelmakers in Jiangsu and Anhui in East China, as well as Shanxi in North China, contributed the most to the increase in rebar output, the survey results showed.
Higher production soon led to a rebound in rebar inventories held by the 137 sampled mills under Mysteel's tracking, with the tonnage gaining by 4.7% or 78,200 tonnes on week.
Trading activity in the spot construction steel market was subdued this week as recent heavy rainfalls slashing several regions of China disrupted or fully halted operations at some outdoor construction projects, Mysteel Global noted.
Daily spot trading volume of construction steel items comprising rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil among the 237 trading houses under Mysteel's coverage slumped by 9.3% or 9,239 tonnes/day to average 90,302 t/d over May 15-21.
The downbeat market sentiment and sluggish spot trading weighed on spot rebar prices as well. The national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar was assessed by Mysteel at Yuan 3,435/tonne ($505/t) on May 21, down by Yuan 59/t on week.
Source:Mysteel Global
