Posted on 23 Jun 2026
Rebar output across China over January-May this year declined by 12.2% on year to 72.57 million tonnes, according to the latest release from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on June 22.
Although the rate of the on-year decline narrowed by 1.3 percentage points from 13.5% recorded in the first four months, January-April production was still the lowest since the same period in 2013, Mysteel Global noted.
During May, China produced 15.22 million tonnes of rebar, lower by 10.5% on year but higher by a small 0.7% from the monthly output in April, Mysteel Global calculated based on the NBS data.
Sluggish domestic demand for construction steel continues to be the primary determinant for the lower rebar output. In May, frequent seasonal rainfalls and insufficient project funding slowed the pace of construction projects, which quelled the interest of end-users such as building contractors to replenish construction steel products including reinforcing bars, Mysteel Global noted.
For instance, funding for the country's real estate sector over January-May totaled Yuan 3.04 trillion ($ 448.5 billion), shrinking by 16.2% compared with the same period of 2025, while the total floor area of the newly-launched property projects nationwide slumped by 22.6% on year to 179.29 million square meters, the NBS data revealed.
During May, the daily trading volume of construction steel comprising rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil among the 237 trading houses sampled by Mysteel averaged 97,837 tonnes/day, down by 4.5% from the average during May last year.
Nonetheless, higher raw materials prices last month offset the downside pressure from subdued demand and led to higher finished steel prices including rebar.
On May 29, Mysteel assessed the national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar at Yuan 3,423/t, rising by Yuan 8/t from end-April.
China's finished steel output registered 123.03 million tonnes during May, declining by 2.8% on year and taking the cumulative output in the first five months to 592.99 million tonnes, 1.5% lower on year, according to the NBS.
Source:Mysteel Global
