Posted on 09 Jul 2026
Construction steel prices in China are expected to rebound mildly overall this month, mainly buoyed by firm cost support and recovering market fundamentals, according to Mysteel's latest monthly report on the sector.
During June, seasonal rainfalls in South and East China had significantly slowed the replenishment of long steel items by end-users, with the combined tonnage of rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil traded among the 237 Chinese trading houses averaging 91,555 tonnes/day last month, contracting by 6.4% or by 6,282 t/d from the May average.
The subdued demand led retail inventories of long steel items last month to remain generally unchanged from May, with the combined inventories of rebar and wire rod held in commercial warehouses in 35 Chinese cities Mysteel regularly monitors totaling 5.51 million tonnes atend-June, higher by a marginal 30,600 tonnes on month.
Long steel prices declined substantially during June, with the national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar registering Yuan 3,300/tonne ($485/t) on June 30, lower by Yuan 123/t on month, according to Mysteel's assessment.
On the supply side, higher prices of steelmaking raw materials impacted the steelmakers' operations last month and cooled their interest in production, the report pointed out.
For example, a Mysteel survey conducted on June 30 found that sampled Chinese blast furnace steelmakersin end-June lost Yuan 109/t on every tonne of rebar they sold, compared with the Yuan 36/t profit at end-May. Meanwhile, electric arc furnace mills were ahead but only slightly, enjoying a margin of Yuan 50/t, contracting by Yuan 90/t from the level at end-May.
Worsening profits had led steel mills to either allocate more hot metal to production of other finished steel items or simply halt their rebar rolling mills for maintenance and wait for better times, the report noted.
As such, the combined weekly output of rebar and wire rod dropped mildly on month in June, with the tonnage produced by the 137 steelmakers under Mysteel's tracking declining by 2.9% or 88,000 tonnes from end-May to 3.03 million tonnes.
Maintenance on blast furnaces and rolling mills is expected to persist in July amid the integrated mills' current losses, which would further ease the inventory pressure this month, the report forecasts.
However, during the early part of July at least, long product demand in South and East China could continue to be impacted by heavy rain and flooding, this time caused by Typhoon Maysak. In the southern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region for example, authorities had to evacuate at least 48,000 residents on July 6 as floods submerged houses, Xinhua news agency reported. Work on outdoor construction projects is certain to be disrupted until the floodwaters recede, which would lead to further inventory accumulation in the first half of the month, Mysteel Global notes.
Source:Mysteel Global
