In the January-April period this year, China’s rebar production totaled 56.841 million mt, down 13.5 percent year on year, according to China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
In the given period, domestic wire rod production amounted to 42.112 million mt, decreasing by 4.7 percent year on year, while welded pipe output came to 17.849 million mt, down 0.2 percent year on year.
In April alone, China’s production of rebar, wire rod and welded pipe amounted to 15.112 million mt, 10.46 million mt and 5.614 million mt, down 13.4 percent, down 10.7 percent and up 4.8 percent year on year, while down 2.0 percent, 9.7 percent and 5.1 percent month on month, respectively.
In April, rebar prices in the Chinese domestic market moved on an upward trend amid improved demand from downstream users and stock replenishments ahead of the Labor Day holiday (May 1-5). Rebar prices reached a peak in April at RMB 3,330/mt ($487/mt) on April 30, with the lowest level during the month seen at RMB 3,233/mt ($473/mt) on April 9, according to SteelOrbis’ data.
$1 = RMB 6.8349