China rebar, hot rolled coils futures range-bound as demand picks up

Chinese steel rebar and hot rolled coils futures were trading in a tight range but both were near high levels, as peak seasonal demand and curtailed output at mills kept prices elevated.

Stockpiles of major steel products, including construction materials and coils used in the manufacturing sector, fell 2.8% to 10.71 million tonnes last week from the week earlier, data from Mysteel consultancy showed.

Meanwhile, weekly output of the metal stood at 10.15 million tonnes as of Sept. 9, according to Mysteel, down 7% from same period a year earlier.

“Affected by the coronavirus situation and floods in July and August, (construction) demand is likely to pick up during peak season,” analysts with CITIC Futures wrote in a note.

The most-active rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange , for January delivery, inched up 0.4% to 5,696 yuan ($883.29) per tonne as of 0215 GMT.

Hot rolled coils futures, used in cars and home appliances, dipped 0.6% to 5,871 yuan a tonne.

Stainless steel on the Shanghai bourse, for October delivery, fell 1.1% to 19,420 yuan per tonne.

Prices for steelmaking ingredients on the Dalian Commodity Exchange fell.

Benchmark iron ore dropped 1.0% to 725 yuan a tonne, while spot 62% iron ore was unchanged at $131.5 per tonne last Friday, according to SteelHome consultancy.