The fundamentals maintain a weak supply and demand situation, and steel prices are expected to consolidate within a narrow range in the short term.
After the market opened at noon on the 26th, the latest weekly domestic steel production and inventory data showed average performance, putting pressure on domestic steel prices.steel pricesAs a result, domestic rebar and hot-rolled futures prices have declined to varying degrees. According to Everbright Futures, the short-term steel market is generally maintaining a situation of weak supply and demand, with the market continuing to engage in speculation around winter storage, and steel prices may remain in a narrow range of consolidation.steel marketSpecifically, according to the latest data released by Shanghai Steel Union (Mysteel), as of the week ending December 26, domestic rebar production was 2.163 million tons, a decrease of 24,300 tons week-on-week and a decrease of 355,400 tons year-on-year; social inventory was 2.7821 million tons, a decrease of 45,300 tons week-on-week and a decrease of 1.1708 million tons year-on-year; factory inventory was 1.2153 million tons, an increase of 12,500 tons week-on-week and a decrease of 743,400 tons year-on-year. Overall, this week’s rebar apparent consumption decreased by 191,000 tons to 2.1958 million tons compared to the previous week, a year-on-year decrease of 4,300 tons. "Rebar weekly production has slightly decreased, inventory has fallen for the fourth consecutive week, and apparent consumption has significantly declined; the data performance is average," commented Qiu Yuecheng, research director of Everbright Futures' black series team.
"Currently, rebar is generally in a situation of weak supply and demand; inventory has dropped to low levels during the traditional off-season for consumption, and contradictions are not accumulating significantly. At the same time, manufacturers are relatively cautious about future market conditions and are still engaged in ongoing speculation around winter storage. It is expected that in the short term, rebar futures will continue to operate mainly in narrow range consolidation," Qiu Yuecheng believes.螺纹钢库存回落至42.9万吨。
