In early January (January 1-10) this year, the average price in China of 16-25 mm HRB 400 rebar decreased by just 0.1 percent to RMB 3,776.7/mt ($547.7/mt), compared to prices in late December (December 21-31), as announced by China’s National Bureau of Statistics. In the given period, prices of wire rod and medium plate remained almost stable, while the prices of hot rolled coil (HRC) and angles decreased by 0.3 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively, though prices of seamless steel pipe edged up by 0.5 percent, compared to late December.
In the early January period, rebar futures at Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) increased by RMB 2/mt or 0.06 percent from RMB 3,569/mt to RMB 3,571/mt.
Meanwhile, major Chinese steelmaker Shagang has cut its offer prices for rebar, high-speed wire rod and bar-in-coil by RMB 80/mt ($11.6/mt) for January 11-20 as buying activity has declined ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday.
$1 = RMB 6.8954