China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) has announced that during last week (August 12-18) the overall average finished steel price in China edged down slightly on week-on-week basis. Market sentiment has remained bearish, while the decline in prices may continue until the end of the month.
In the given week, the average prices of rebar, high-speed wire rod and steel channel in China moved down by 0.7 percent, 0.5 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively, week on week.
Moreover, steel futures prices, after a previous rebound, have started to go down again, reflecting bearish sentiments. Rebar futures at the Shanghai Future Exchanged came to RMB 3,667/mt on Wednesday, August 21, down RMB 47/mt ($6.7/mt) or 1.2 percent from last Friday’s level.