During the week ending June 3, domestic rebar and wire rod prices in China have trended down further, especially in the eastern region of the country. On June 3, rebar futures contract (1301) offers closed at RMB 3,483/mt ($560/mt) at Shanghai Futures Exchange, down $2/mt as compared to the previous week. Average domestic rebar and wire rod prices in China's main markets can be viewed in the SteelOrbis price reports section.
Amid a sentiment of panic in the market, domestic rebar and wire rod prices have slipped down further. Although construction activity in China is at normal levels, there are abundant new arrivals of rebar and wire rod products in the market. In addition, as the losses incurred by leading long steel producers are manageable, there have not been any significant reductions in outputs of rebar and wire rod. As the summer approaches, consumption of construction steel will enter the slow season, and so it is expected that domestic prices of rebar and wire rod products will remain on a soft trend in the coming period.