Activity in the South Korean construction sector is currently stagnant, resulting in weak demand in the domestic rebar market. At the end of April, aggregate rebar inventory in South Korea was 300,000 mt, 100,000 mt higher than the usual levels for the time of the year. In the first three months, South Korea's rebar output decreased by just two percent year on year.
During the past week, the retail price of rebar from South Korea's second largest steelmaker Hyundai Steel was at KRW 810,000/mt ($749/mt) in the domestic market.
In the first quarter of the current year, the import rebar market in South Korea has been quiet, with imports not attracting much interest from buyers.