By Jessica Zong – Monday 18 October
China’s domestic rebar prices dropped on Monday October 18 following the release of data by National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showing a decrease in new housing starts.
Domestic
Eastern China (Shanghai): 5,730-5,770 yuan ($890-896) per tonne, down by 30-40 yuan per tonne
The construction area of newly started houses came to 1.53 billion square meters in the first three quarters of 2021, down by 4.5% from a year earlier, according to NBS.
The data has led to a bearish outlook for the housing market in the fourth quarter, so both rebar futures and spot prices have decreased, an industry analyst said.
Rebar buyers have reduced their procurement rates to wait for lower prices, a trader in Shanghai said.
Market chatter
“Some trading houses postponed picking up rebar from mills to keep low inventories. The low stock in the spot market is good for supporting prices, but some mills have required those traders to take delivery or they will charge the storage cost. Rebar prices will be under pressure,” a second trader in Shanghai said.
Billet
As of 3pm in Shanghai, billet was being traded at 5,200 yuan per tonne including value-added tax in Tangshan, down by 50 yuan per tonne from last Friday.
Shanghai Futures Exchange
The most-traded January rebar futures contract closed at 5,422 yuan per tonne on Monday, down by 93 yuan per tonne from Friday October 15.
(MetalBulletin, 18 Oct, 2021)
