Steel price grinds higher as China braces for production cuts in H2 2022

Steel price remains firmer during the sluggish Asian session on Monday, despite recently sidelined moves amid the US dollar’s rebound and fears surrounding China. The reason for the metal’s latest inaction could also be linked to mixed catalysts from Beijing and the market’s fears ahead of the key US jobs report for July.

That said, Construction Steel Rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange prints nearly 2.0% gains around 4,100 yuan per metric tonne whereas stainless steel rises close to 3.0% daily by the press time.

Recently, China’s Caixin Manufacturing PMI for July eased to 50.4 versus 51.5 expected and 51.7 prior. In doing so, the private activity gauge from China tracked the official PMIs, published during the weekend. It’s worth noting that China’s NBS Manufacturing PMI dropped back into contraction after the previous monthly improvement, down to 49.0 versus 50.4 expected and 50.2 prior. Further, the Non-Manufacturing PMI rose past 52.3 market forecast to 53.8, against 54.7 in previous readouts.