Posted on 13 Aug 2026
The losses of Chinese blast-furnace (BF) steel mills on finished steel sales widened in July, mainly due to the weakness of domestic steel prices amid poor end-user demand, according to the results of Mysteel's latest monthly survey. This was despite the fact that their production costs had declined with the softening prices of some major steelmaking raw materials.
Last month, the average loss on rebar sales for the sampled steelmakers stood at Yuan 120/tonne ($17.8/t), deepening from the average of Yuan 71/t in June, while their average loss on sales of hot-rolled coil (HRC) also widened by Yuan 35/t on month to reach Yuan 61/t.
For July, the sampled BF mills also posted an average loss of Yuan 33/t on sales of medium plate, as against a profit of Yuan 43/t for the previous month, the survey findings showed.
Chinese BF mills' margins on finished steel sales (Unit: Yuan/t)
Product | Jul | Jun | MoM |
Rebar | -120 | -71 | -49 |
HRC | -61 | -26 | -35 |
Medium plate | -33 | 43 | -76 |
Source: Mysteel
China's finished steel prices continued to weaken in July, as demand from end users remained dull during the summer off season for steel consumption, with outdoor construction activity dampened by high temperatures and frequent heavy rains across most regions of the country.
Mysteel's assessment showed that on July 31, the national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar was at Yuan 3,234/t including the 13% VAT, making for an on-month fall of Yuan 66/t. In parallel, the national average price of Q235 4.75mm HRC had slipped by Yuan 67/t on month to Yuan 3,273/t including the VAT.
Last month, the daily trading volume of construction steel comprising rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil among the 237 trading houses nationwide monitored by Mysteel averaged 85,237 tonnes/day, lower by 6,318 t/d compared with the average during June.
Although lower iron ore prices reduced steelmakers' production costs, they failed to offset the impact on their profitability of the drop in steel prices, Mysteel Global noted.
Last month, the average production cost for making rebar among the sampled BF mills reached Yuan 3,089/t, down by Yuan 28/t on month, while those for making HRC and medium plate decreased by Yuan 25/t and Yuan 27/t respectively on month to average Yuan 3,266/t and Yuan 3,380/t including the 13% VAT, according to the survey.
In July, the Mysteel SEADEX 62% Australian Fines iron ore index averaged $100/dmt CFR Qingdao, falling by $2/dmt on month.
Source:Mysteel Global
