During the past week, ex-China rebar offer prices have edged up, supported by hikes in the local market, while the outlook for next week is also cautiously optimistic.
Ex-China rebar offer prices have been heard at $455-465/mt FOB, edging up by $5/mt on average compared to December 26.
Jiangsu Province-based Shagang Group, China’s largest private steelmaker, has kept its offer prices for 16-20 mm HRB400 rebar stable for January 1-10, but it may announce some increases for mid-January, market sources believe.
Following the New Year holiday, China’s stock market has moved up, positively affecting market sentiments. Meanwhile, commodity prices in the global market have moved on an overall uptrend, also exerting a positive impact on rebar prices. Coking coal and coke futures prices have seen big increases, providing solid support for rebar prices from the cost side. After increases over the past few trading days, most market players have started to be cautious, which may limit the rising trend of rebar prices. It is expected that rebar prices in the Chinese domestic market will likely see slight rises in the coming week.
Meanwhile, offer prices of ex-China rebar in Singapore have stood at $480-485/mt CFR, theoretical weight, moving up by $10/mt compared to December 26. The offer prices of ex-Malaysia rebar have been heard at $490/mt DAP Singapore, theoretical weight, moving sideways on average from the previous level.
In the Hong Kong market, buyers’ target price has increased to $470/mt CFR, actual weight, up $5/mt on average compared to December 26, while offer prices for Asian rebar have been heard at $480-490/mt CFR, actual weight.
Average rebar spot prices in China have gained RMB 10/mt ($1.4/mt) compared to December 26, standing at RMB 3,300/mt ($470/mt) ex-warehouse, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of January 9, rebar futures at Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,144/mt ($442/mt), increasing by RMB 26/mt ($3.6/mt) or 0.8 percent since December 26, while decreasing by 1.1 percent compared to the previous trading day, January 8.
$1 = RMB 7.0128
