On August 16, rebar futures prices at the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) declined for the fifth consecutive trading day. Of the two main rebar futures contracts at the SHFE, the RB1801 futures contract price has declined to RMB 3,707/mt ($555/mt) from a record high of RMB 4,016/mt ($601/mt) five trading days earlier, while the RB1701 futures contract price has decreased to RMB 3,854/mt ($577/mt) from RMB 4,119/mt ($617/mt) over the same period.
As part of efforts to curb speculation, effective as of August 15 Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) has adjusted the trading fee for the main rebar futures contracts, RB1710 and RB1801, to 0.05 percent from 0.01 percent for anyone concluding both purchases and sales on the same day. Meanwhile, the SHFE has limited intraday positions on the RB1710 and RB1801 futures contracts to 8,000 lots.
The SHFE has taken these measures to curb speculation after a meeting held at the end of last week by the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) with related parties to discuss the rapid rises seen in steel prices, with the CISA stressing that the rapid rise in steel futures prices was driven by speculation over the impact of upcoming capacity cuts.