Posted on 11 Aug 2026
Billet prices in Tangshan in North China's Hebei province showed signs of recovery during the week of August 3-9, with Mysteel assessing the price of Q235 150mm square billet in the city at Yuan 2,940/tonne ($435/t) EXW and including the 13% VAT on August 9, up by Yuan 20/t on week.
Mysteel attributed the small price rise to recovering demand for the semis as more re-rollers in Tangshan resumed operations. The city's steelmakers and re-rollers had been required by the local government to curb production during July 25-29, as reported.
The daily usage of billets among the 34 local re-rollers sampled by Mysteel averaged 36,500 tonnes/day over July 30-August 5, rebounding by a large 27.6% or 7,900 t/d from the week prior when the curbs were in force.
The re-rollers rushed to replenish billet stocks when prices were relatively low, which boosted transactions in the physical market, Mysteel Global understands.
As a result, billet inventories shifted from traders' yards to those of local re-rollers. Specifically, the tonnage stockpiled in the three commercial warehouses and two ports in Tangshan under Mysteel's coverage totaled 1.67 million tonnes as of August 6, down by 6.2% or 110,700 tonnes on week.
Not surprisingly, billet inventories held by the 34 re-rollers mounted, with the total reaching 741,200 tonnes as of August 5, rising by 13.2% or 86,200 tonnes on week.
On the other hand, the removal of production restrictions on blast furnace operations in the city also led to a surge in billet supply, Mysteel noted.
Specifically, the tonnage of the semis sold or exported by the 21 local steelmakers in Tangshan and surrounding areas under Mysteel's tracking averaged 32,500 t/d over July 31-August 6, gaining by 21.7% or 5,800 t/d on week and marking the end of an 8-week fall.
This week, Tangshan billet prices are expected to be rangebound as the strength of the recoveries in both supply and demand is still capped by seasonal summer weaknesses, a Mysteel analyst believed. This will heavily constrain any impetus for prices to strengthen, she said.
Source:Mysteel Global
