Posted on 10 Aug 2021
Rebar production among the 137 Chinese integrated mills and re-rollers regularly tracked by Mysteel declined for the third week last week, falling by 3.3% or 108,800 tonnes on week to reach 3.18 million tonnes during July 29-August 4, according to the latest weekly survey.
Steel mills in North, East and Southwest China’s Hebei, Jiangsu, Sichuan and Guangxi provinces posted significant on-week declines in rebar output, mainly due to production curtailment orders and power supply cuts, according to the survey.
Over the period, both rebar rolling capacity utilization and the operational rate among the surveyed producers decreased, with the former slipping further by 2.4 percentage points on week to 69.7%, while the latter nudged down by 0.3 percentage point on week to 64.3%, Mysteel’s surveys showed.
Most Chinese finished steel prices underwent a downward correction last week, and as of August 6, the country’s national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar under Mysteel’s assessment had reached Yuan 5,349/tonne ($825/t) and including the 13% VAT. The was down Yuan 130/t on week and followed four weeks of rises, as the market reacted strongly to Beijing’s July 30 call for stability in supplies and prices of bulk commodities.
Over August 2-6, the daily trading volume of construction steel including rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil among the 237 Chinese steel traders under Mysteel’s tracking had recovered slightly by 3,148 tonnes/day or 1.9% on week, to reach 168,531 t/d on average. Nonetheless, steel demand had still been dampened by rising COVID-19 cases and some adverse summer weather.
Rebar inventories at the 137 steel mills Mysteel checks had climbed after four weeks of declines, swelling by 8.8% or 271,900 tonnes on week to 3.37 million tonnes as of August 4.
Meanwhile, the tonnage at commercial warehouses in the 35 Chinese cities Mysteel monitors eased by 1% or 80,500 tonnes on week after a minor increase in the prior week to reach 8.16 million tonnes as of August 5.
Table 1: Rebar Production Survey by Region by Aug 4
Table 2: Wire Rod Production Survey by Region by Aug 4
Table 3: Rebar Production Survey by Process by Aug 4
Table 4: Wire Rod Production Survey by Process by Aug 4
Table 5: Mills' Rebar and Wire Rod Stocks by Region by Aug 4
Table 6: Rebar and Wire Rod Stocks Survey by Process by Aug 4
Source:Mysteel Global
