In late February (February 21-29) this year, the average price in China of 16-25 mm HRB 400 rebar decreased by RMB 41.7/mt ($6/mt) or 1.2 percent to RMB 3,577.8/mt ($514.7/mt), compared to prices in mid-February (February 11-20), as announced by China’s National Bureau of Statistics. In the given period, prices of wire rod, medium plate, hot rolled coil (HRC), seamless steel pipe and angles decreased by 1.1 percent, 0.3 percent, 1.0 percent, 0.1 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively, all compared to mid-February.
As of February 28, rebar futures at Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) decreased by RMB 150/mt ($21.6/mt) or 4.3 percent to RMB 3,335/mt ($479.8/mt) from RMB 3,485/mt recorded on February 21. Meanwhile, major Chinese steelmaker Shagang has cut its offer prices for rebar, high-speed wire rod and bar-in-coil by RMB 230/mt ($32.8/mt), RMB 200/mt ($28.5/mt) and RMB 200/mt ($28.5/mt) respectively for the March 1-10 period. All prices are on ex-works basis.
$1 = RMB 6.9514