SteelOrbis has been informed that Chinese mills’ export offer prices for wire rod have moved sideways in the past week following the $25/mt decline seen in the previous week, and currently stand at $450-455/mt FOB. “Though China has taken measures to stimulate enterprises to resume production, steel producers have lowered their capacity utilization rates to ease supply pressure. Due to the coronavirus, demand for wire rod from downstream users is still sluggish amid increasing inventory levels,” a trader said.
Currently, China has started to issue local government bonds to stimulate construction activities, which will bolster the rebar and wire rod market.
During the given week, Anhui Province-based Ma’anshan Iron and Steel and Jiangsu Province-based Nanjing Iron and Steel have decreased their rebar prices by RMB 80/mt ($11.4/mt) and RMB 30/mt ($4.3/mt), respectively, signaling their pessimistic view of the future prospects for the market.
As of Thursday, February 20, rebar futures at the Shanghai Future Exchange are standing at RMB 3,460/mt ($494.3/mt), increasing by RMB 65/mt ($9.3/mt) or 1.9 percent since February 13.
$1 = RMB 7.0026