During the week ending September 15, rebar and wire rod prices in the Chinese domestic market have continued their downtrend, while overall transaction activity for both rebar and wire rod has been better than in the previous week and is now at decent levels. On September 15, rebar futures contract (1501) offers closed at RMB 2,826/mt ($460/mt) at Shanghai Futures Exchange, up $9/mt 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.
During the given week, in order to bring in funds domestic steelmakers have continued to lower their ex-works prices for rebar and wire rod. For instance, the ex-works rebar prices of Hebei Iron and Steel have been cut by RMB 200/mt ($33/mt), exerting a negative impact on rebar and wire rod prices in the spot market, though the downward movement of market prices has been slower than in the previous week. Downstream industries have increased their purchases, while finished steel futures prices in China have bottomed out, with bullish sentiment starting to prevail in the market, providing a certain amount of support for domestic finished steel prices. After the continuous decreases seen in domestic rebar and wire rod prices in the past several weeks, it is thought that the price trend will likely be stable or rise slightly in the coming week.