China's output of long steel products, which are mainly used for construction purposes, strengthened in July and could increase further this month as the rainy season abates.
Rebar production hit 23.92 million mt in July, up 5.3% year on year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics, or NBS, showed on Aug. 20. Year-to-date rebar output increased 2.9% year on year to 147.4 million mt.
Wire rod output also saw a good performance, rising 7.5% on the year to 14.47 million mt, and reaching 90.62 million mt over Jan-July, up 1.9% on the year.
Spot rebar prices in the Beijing market reached Yuan 3,815/mt ($551/mt) as of Aug. 19, up Yuan 5/mt on month, S&P Global Platts assessments showed.
HOME APPLIANCE SECTOR IMPROVES
NBS data showed that China’s home appliance production improved further in July after a big slump earlier in the year due to COVID-19, helping to support hot-dip galvanized coil demand and prices.
The white goods sector accounts for close to 2% of China's total steel consumption, consuming mainly hot-dip galvanized coil and cold-rolled coil.
The growth rate of China’s production of air conditioners, washing machines, freezers and refrigerators over January-July dropped by 7.9% year on year, compared with a 11.4% decline over Jan-June, according to the NBS.
China's monthly domestic HDG price in Shanghai's spot market on Aug. 1 increased by 2.3% month on month to Yuan 4,500/mt ($650/mt), Platts assessments showed.
-- Analyst Crystal Hao, Analyst Sylvia Cao
Source : Steel Business Briefing
