Posted on 28 Sep 2026
China's weekly rebar production dropped to the lowest level this year during September 17-23, with the tonnage produced by the 137 Chinese steelmakers under Mysteel's tracking dropping by 5% or 87,200 tonnes on week to 1.65 million tonnes, according to Mysteel's latest survey result.
The drop on-year was lower by a larger 19.9% and was the domestic steelmakers' response to the negative margins they're earning on steel sales when their input costs are rising, Mysteel Global noted.
Meanwhile, another Mysteel survey showed that the capacity utilization of rebar mills among the surveyed steelmakers had also declined moderately by 1.9 percentage points on week to 36.3%.
But restocking demand ahead of the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays National Day holidays and lower production had eased the inventory pressure for both steel mills and traders, Mysteel learned.
For example, rebar stocks held by the 137 Chinese steelmakers Mysteel regularly checks totaled 1.52 million tonnes as of September 24, down by 4.3% or 68,200 tonnes on week, while the tonnage stored in commercial warehouses of traders in 35 Chinese cities under Mysteel's coverage retreated by a larger 7.7% or 366,800 tonnes on week to sit at 4.4 million tonnes as of the same day.
Actual steel demand among building contractors remains dull, as reflected in subdued retail trading activity.
Over September 17-23, the spot trading volume of long steel items comprising rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil among the 237 trading houses nationwide under Mysteel's tracking dipped to average 92,970 tonnes/day, down by 2.4% or 2,256 t/d on week.
Sentiment in the domestic rebar market remains skittish amid the sluggish actual steel consumption. As such, the national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar witnessed some slight volatility over the week, with Mysteel assessing the price at Yuan 3,324/tonne ($495/t) on September 23, up by Yuan 2/t on week.
Source:Mysteel Global
