Posted on 17 Sep 2026
China's demand for construction steel is expected to steadily improve this month, usually a peak month for steel consumption, as construction activities should recover with the return of milder weather conditions in most regions of the country, 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 August and their purchase plans for these products this month.
Mysteel's regular tracking of over 200 domestic construction enterprises showed that their total purchase volume of steel products reached 6.46 million tonnes last month, rising by 1.9% from August, as constraints on construction had eased in the second half of the month thanks to lower temperatures and less rainfall in some regions.
For September, the actual purchase volume among the sampled building contractors is estimated to reach 6.85 million tonnes, higher by 6% compared with that for the prior month, according to the survey.
September and October are usually good months for steel consumption in China, and progress on projects in most regions of the country usually speeds up as building contractors make use of the favorable weather and mild daytime temperatures to complete jobs before the winter cold arrives.
Transactions for construction steel in the physical market showed signs of recovery during the first half of this month. Mysteel's other survey showed that over September 1-15, the combined daily trading volume of rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil among the 237 trading houses nationwide under its tracking averaged 92,003 tonnes/day, increasing by 1,320 t/d from the average for August.
For the time being, the uptick in steel demand will be mainly supported by key engineering, livelihood, and infrastructure projects. The real estate sector has yet to show any significant improvement and so cannot provide too much support for construction steel demand.
Many building contractors still face financial pressure, and they prefer to purchase based on their actual demand and keep their inventories low to reduce risks.
So far this month, domestic construction steel prices have displayed little impetus to rise, as the prevailing end-user demand has failed to meet market expectations, Mysteel Global noted.
On September 15, Mysteel assessed the national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar at Yuan 3,314/tonne ($494/t) including the 13% VAT, lower by Yuan 36/t from the end of August.
Source:Mysteel Global
