During the week ending March 3, rebar and wire rod prices in the Chinese domestic market have mostly continued their downward movement, while transaction activity has shown a slight recovery. On March 3, rebar futures contract (1410) offers closed at RMB 3,426/mt ($560/mt) at Shanghai Futures Exchange, increasing by $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.
In the given week, trading activity in the local Chinese rebar and wire rod market has improved slightly, but has not increased sufficiently to push up prices. Rebar and wire rod prices in the Chinese domestic market have mostly trended down, except for prices in northern China, which have seen a slight rebound during the week in question. At the current time, participants in the long steel futures market in China are pessimistic in their view of the prospects for the futures market. However, transaction activity in the Chinese domestic rebar and wire rod market is expected to rise as new construction projects gradually get underway in the coming period and this will likely limit the downward movement of the rebar and wire rod market in China.