Posted on 06 Aug 2026
Weak demand among re-rollers is likely to keep China's billet prices at near recent lows in early August, according to Mysteel's latest monthly report. But prices may recover slightly later in the month if end-user demand for finished steel improves and boosts the semis market, it says.
Chinese billet prices lost ground in July for both domestic and overseas sales, as seasonal consumption eased across the board, the report noted. This reflected softening demand at home from private sector and public infrastructure construction, and from poor exports to markets such Indonesia and Türkiye.
On July 31, Mysteel assessed the price of Q235 150mm square billet in Tangshan in North China's Hebei province – the hub of China's billet industry – at Yuan 2,920/tonne ($433/t) EXW, down by Yuan 50/t from the level on June 30. In parallel, Mysteel determined the export price of 3SP 150*150mm square billet at North China's Jingtang port at $451/tonne FOB the same day, lower by a large $14/t on month.
Falling billet prices prompted Chinese steelmakers to reschedule furnace maintenance and divert more hot metal to other finished steel products, the report pointed out. This reduced billet availability in the domestic market.
During July, the volume of the semis being sold or exported by the sampled Chinese steelmakers Mysteel monitors totaled 2.3 million tonnes, declining by 8% on month and by a huge 30.3% on year.
Reduced supply encouraged traders to firm their offer prices when selling their billets last month, with Mysteel assessing the spot price of Q235 150mm square billet in the Tangshan market at Yuan 2,990/t on July 31, lower by only Yuan 10/t on month.
On the other hand, sluggish sales of billet-rolled finished steel products impacted billet consumption last month, the report notes. Also, production curbs imposed on Tangshan steelmakers and re-rollers during July 25-29 pared billet use, as Mysteel Global reported.
Consequently, daily billet consumption among the 34 re-rollers in Tangshan monitored by Mysteel averaged 28,600 t/d in end-July, declining sharply by 26.3% or 10,200 t/d from end-June.
For this month, domestic re-rollers will remain cautious about replenishing billet stocks, the report warns, which will also weigh on domestic prices of the semis. But the relatively tight supply of billets and the potential for demand to pick up later this month as re-rollers prepare for cooler weather conditions in September may lend some support to end-August prices, it suggests.
Source:Mysteel Global
