During the past week, ex-China rebar offer prices have moved sideways. The previous uptrend has been replaced by sideways movement due to weaker demand locally and in the export market, while futures prices have also posted small declines.
Ex-China rebar offer prices have been heard at $480-485/mt FOB, moving sideways on average compared to March 27.
During the given week, the ongoing war in the Middle East has pushed up crude oil prices, exerting a negative impact on the financial markets, while ferrous metal prices have also been under pressure. Rebar futures prices moved on a downward trend, weakening the support for prices in the spot market. Rainy weather in the Yangtze River Delta has negatively affected the demand for rebar from downstream users. It is expected that rebar prices in the Chinese domestic market will fluctuate within a limited range in the coming week, but no significant decline is expected as costs are still high.
Offer prices of ex-China rebar stand at $510/mt CFR Singapore, for prompt shipment, theoretical weight, remaining stable on average compared to March 27, while ex-Malaysia rebar has been heard at $510-515/mt DAP Singapore.
In the Hong Kong market, buyers’ target price stands at $500/mt CFR, actual weight, versus $495-500/mt CFR on March 27. Chinese suppliers have been giving $502-505/mt CFR in offers.
Average rebar spot prices in China have lost RMB 3/mt ($0.4/mt) compared to March 27, standing at RMB 3,247/mt ($471/mt) ex-warehouse, according to SteelOrbis’ information.
As of April 3, rebar futures at Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,097/mt ($449/mt), decreasing by RMB 27/mt ($3.9/mt) or 0.86 percent since March 20, while down 0.23 percent compared to the previous trading day, April 2.
$1 = RMB 6.8929
