Steel Holds Decline from 1-Month High

2026-07-24 09:53 By Andre Joaquim 1 min. read

Steel rebar futures in China were close to CNY 3,060 per tonne, holding the pullback from one-month high of CNY 3,130 on July 16th amid low demand in China.

The oversupply of housing that caused their prolonged property crisis limited investment for new construction.

New home prices contracted further in June, and construction starts by floor area fell 23.4% annually in the first half of the year.

Construction accounts for one-third of Chinese steel demand, making up for most of rebar purchases.

Manufacturing growth was also muted as low consumer demand was combined with protectionist policies limiting the magnitude of foreign orders for goods producers, especially due to the softening momentum for auto production growth.

Consequently, domestic steel output totaled 500 million tonnes in the first half of the year, around 3% below levels from 2025.

Still, ample infrastructure expenditure from Beijing, including for power plants, grids, and electricity storage, supported consumption.



News Stream
Steel Holds Decline from 1-Month High
Steel rebar futures in China were close to CNY 3,060 per tonne, holding the pullback from one-month high of CNY 3,130 on July 16th amid low demand in China. The oversupply of housing that caused their prolonged property crisis limited investment for new construction. New home prices contracted further in June, and construction starts by floor area fell 23.4% annually in the first half of the year. Construction accounts for one-third of Chinese steel demand, making up for most of rebar purchases. Manufacturing growth was also muted as low consumer demand was combined with protectionist policies limiting the magnitude of foreign orders for goods producers, especially due to the softening momentum for auto production growth. Consequently, domestic steel output totaled 500 million tonnes in the first half of the year, around 3% below levels from 2025. Still, ample infrastructure expenditure from Beijing, including for power plants, grids, and electricity storage, supported consumption.
2026-07-24
Steel Firms Despite Weak Demand
Steel rebar futures hovered around CNY 3,090 per ton, recovering after recent losses as higher iron ore prices and improving sentiment toward China's steel sector supported the market. Confidence was underpinned by resilient crude steel production, which averaged 2.79 million tons per day in June, the highest since March, while strong iron ore imports and expectations of additional policy stimulus from Beijing also buoyed sentiment. However, gains remained capped by persistent weakness in China's property sector, with first-half real estate investment falling 18% year-on-year and construction starts declining 23.4%. Persistent high temperatures and frequent rainfall across parts of China also continued to disrupt outdoor construction activity, keeping demand for construction steel subdued.
2026-07-23
Steel Drops on Demand Weakness
Steel rebar futures fell to around CNY 3,070 per ton, hitting a one-week low as seasonal weakness in Chinese demand and softer mill profitability weighed on sentiment. Persistent rainfall across southern China and high temperatures in the north continued to hamper construction activity, reducing steel consumption. Industry data also showed blast furnace capacity utilization at surveyed steel mills slipped below 90% last week, while mill profitability eased to around 37%. Meanwhile, recent Chinese trade data showed steel exports declined 5.6% year-on-year to 57.87 million tons in the first half of the year. In June alone, exports totaled 10.32 million tons, down 0.2% from the previous month but 6.6% higher than a year earlier. Additionally, China's steel imports reached 2.69 million tons in January-June, marking an 11.3% decline from the same period last year.
2026-07-20