Local Chinese longs prices mostly see gradual decreases

During the week ending March 30, average prices of Chinese domestic rebar and wire rod have mostly moved down, while transaction activities have been at low-to-medium levels.

Rebar prices have lost RMB 13/mt, while wire rod have declined by RMB 17/mt on average during the past week, according to SteelOrbis’ information, though prices in US dollars have risen slightly amid currency rate fluctuations.

During the given week, Chinese steelmakers’ outputs for rebar and wire rod have increased, though at a slower pace, while their inventories have decreased. However, inventories, excepting those of steelmakers, are at relatively high levels. Meanwhile, though demand has improved, it has not been as good as market players had expected.

Jiangsu Province-based Nanjing Iron and Steel and Anhui Province-based Ma’anshan Iron and Steel has cut its prices for rebar by RMB 30/mt ($4.3/mt) and RMB 40/mt ($5.7/mt) on March 30, showing its pessimistic view of the future prospects for the local longs market.

On March 30, rebar futures contract (2010) offers closed at RMB 3,242/mt ($460.2/mt) at Shanghai Futures Exchange, down RMB 158/mt ($22.4/mt) or by 4.6 percent since March 23.

Average domestic rebar and wire rod prices in China's main markets are presented in the tables below. 

Rebar prices in local markets

All prices include 13 percent VAT and all prices are ex-warehouse.

Wire rod prices in local markets

All prices include 13 percent VAT and all prices are ex-warehouse.

$1 = RMB 7.0447