Posted on 17 Jul 2026
China's demand for construction steel is expected to remain weak this month, as building industry activity is seen slowing due to the impact of nationwide high temperatures and frequent rains, according to the findings of Mysteel's latest monthly survey.
The prediction is based on the actual volumes of construction steel products bought by domestic end-users in June and their purchase plans for these products this month.
Mysteel's regular tracking of over 200 domestic construction enterprises showed that their total buying volume of steel products reached 6.47 million tonnes last month, edging down 0.3% from May. However, their actual procurement tonnage was 3.4% lower compared with their planned volume for June, suggesting weak end-user demand.
This month, the actual purchase volume among the sampled building contractors is estimated to reach 6.35 million tonnes, lower by 1.9% from that for June, according to the survey.
For July, the persistent high temperatures and frequent rainfall across most regions of China will continue to hamper outdoor construction. Apart from key projects and livelihood projects, the real estate sector remains in a downturn, and no notable improvement has been seen recently. These facts point to a continued weakness in demand for construction steel.
Given the market uncertainty ahead, Chinese building contractors are inclined to keep their steel inventories at low levels and procure materials based on actual project requirements.
Transactions of construction steel in the physical market have hovered low recently. During July 1-15, the combined daily trading volume of rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil among the 237 trading houses nationwide under Mysteel's tracking registered 87,811 tonnes/day, falling by 3,744 t/d or 4.1% from the average for June.
China's construction steel prices remain weak overall, with the national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar under Mysteel's assessment standing at Yuan 3,290/tonne ($486/t) including the 13% VAT on July 15, slipping by Yuan 10/t from the end of June.
Source:Mysteel Global
