Posted on 27 Oct 2026
Chinese prices of major steel products, including rebar and hot-rolled coil (HRC), weakened continuously during the week of October 19-23, mainly due to the weakening of their futures prices and thin spot sales amid depressed end-user demand, Mysteel Global learned.
Rebar: As of October 23, China's national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar was assessed by Mysteel at Yuan 3,311/tonne ($496/t) including the 13% VAT, down by Yuan 8/t from one week earlier.
Rebar prices in the derivatives market pulled back further last week, with the most-traded contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange for next January delivery closing the daytime trading session on October 23 at Yuan 3,047/t, lower by Yuan 25/t from the settlement price on October 16.
Although long steel production still stayed at relatively low levels, demand from end-users failed to meet market expectations for October, a traditional peak month for construction steel consumption in China.
Over October 19-23, the combined daily trading volume of rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil among the 237 trading houses nationwide monitored by Mysteel averaged 88,669 tonnes/day, dipping by 567 t/d on week.
Billet: On October 23, the price of Tangshan Q235 150mm square billet in North China's Hebei province under Mysteel's assessment came in at Yuan 2,920/t EXW and including the 13% VAT, logging an on-week fall of Yuan 20/t.
While some downstream re-rollers resumed operations last week, the recovery in billet demand was limited, as most re-rollers were still cautious about purchasing the semis after noting the poor performance in the rebar futures market.
HRC: Mysteel assessed China's national average price of Q235 4.75mm HRC at Yuan 3,248/t including the 13% VAT on October 23, slipping by Yuan 28/t on week.
Many traders cut their HRC offers to facilitate spot sales given the lackluster demand, and their HRC inventories decreased accordingly. As of October 22, the volume stocked at traders' warehouses in the 55 Chinese cities nationwide under Mysteel's tracking registered 4.89 million tonnes, down by 1.5% on week.
Source:Mysteel Global
