Poor real estate, typhoon affect local Chinese longs prices, slight rise expected

As of September 19, average Chinese domestic rebar and wire rod prices have moved down week on week, and since Friday there have been slight rises.

The average rebar price has declined by RMB 40/mt week on week, while the average wire rod price has lost RMB 43/mt. Rebar prices have gained RMB 3/mt since Friday.

During the given week, rebar and wire rod prices moved down amid slack demand from downstream users caused by the typhoon Muifa. Meanwhile, due to the Mid-Autumn Day holiday, the inventory levels of rebar and wire rod increased, exerting a negative impact on prices. At the same time, real estate performance has continued to be poor, weakening the market players’ confidence towards the rebar and wire rod market. Moreover, rebar futures prices edged down, which also negatively affected the rebar and wire rod market. The weather will return to normal across the country in the coming week, which will bolster rebar and wire rod prices in the near future. It is expected that rebar and wire rod prices may edge up in the coming week.

On September 19, rebar futures contract (rb2210) offers closed at RMB 3,696/mt ($533/mt) at Shanghai Futures Exchange, down RMB 98/mt ($14.1/mt) or 2.6 percent compared to September 13.

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 6.9396