Jiangsu Province-based Shagang Group, China’s largest private steelmaker, has issued its list prices for all long steel products for July 21-31. Accordingly, the company has cut its offer prices for rebar by RMB 100/mt ($14/mt) to RMB 3,870/mt ($541/mt), while it has also decreased its prices for debar-in-coil by RMB 100/mt ($14/mt) to RMB 4,100/mt ($573/mt). All prices are on ex-works basis.
For the July 11-20 period, the producer had cut its offer prices for rebar by RMB 100/mt ($14/mt) to RMB 3,970/mt ($552/mt), while it had kept its prices for high-speed wire rod and debar-in-coil stable.
The producer has decided to keep cutting prices as demand is not showing signs of improvement, as inventories are gradually increasing and the gap between ex-works prices of the mill and the spot ex-warehouse prices has to be smaller to accelerate sales. The producer has reduced its prices even despite some improvements in futures prices, mostly reflecting expectations, though the market fundamentals are not so good.
As of July 20, the average rebar price in the Chinese market was standing at RMB 3,767/mt ($527/mt) ex-warehouse, up by RMB 34/mt ($4.8/mt) or 0.9 percent from July 10, according to SteelOrbis’ data. Rebar futures prices moved up in the given period, positively affecting rebar prices in the spot market.
As of July 20, rebar futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are standing at RMB 3,784/mt ($521/mt), rising by RMB 57/mt ($8/mt) or up 1.53 percent since July 13, while increasing by 1.37 percent compared to the previous trading day (July 19).
Prices include 13 percent VAT.
$1 = RMB 7.1456