Local Chinese rebar and wire rod prices see diverse trends

As of February 5, Chinese domestic rebar and wire rod prices have indicated diverse trends on week-on-week basis, with small price rises seen in northern China, declines observed in southern China, with a stable trend in eastern China. Transaction activity in the overall domestic rebar and wire rod market has been at low-to-medium levels. On February 5, rebar futures contract (1805) offers closed at RMB 3,967/mt ($631/mt) at Shanghai Futures Exchange, up RMB 22/mt week on week. Average domestic rebar and wire rod prices in China's main markets are presented in the tables below.  

At the beginning of the given week, semi-finished steel prices in China moved down, exerting a negative impact on rebar and wire rod prices, especially in southern China. However, with rebar futures prices moving up in the latter part of the given week, traders have been less willing to sell and this has provided increased support for rebar and wire rod prices in the spot market. Approaching the Chinese New Year holiday (February 15-21), demand has been slack and most market participants will be on holiday as of the end of this week. It is thought that rebar and wire rod prices in the Chinese domestic market will likely move sideways in the coming week.

Wire rod prices in local Chinese market

All prices include 17 percent VAT and all prices are ex-warehouse

Rebar prices in local Chinese market

All prices include 17 percent VAT and all prices are ex-warehouse

$1 = RMB 6.29