Steel rebar futures eased to CNY 3,575 per tonne from the four-week high of CNY 3,610 touched on April 17th, as signs of weak Chinese demand returned to investors’ forefront. Soft economic data released by China maintained pessimism that property developers in the world’s largest steel consumer will be unable to recover from their ongoing debt crisis, and Beijing’s plans of reducing the Chinese economy’s dependence on its property sector eased expectations on the extent of stimulus that the government may still pass. New home prices compiled by the Chinese NBS dropped by 2.2% from the previous year in March, the ninth straight contraction at the fastest pace since 2015, underscoring the lack of demand in steel-intensive construction. Additionally, construction giant Vanke reported a 50% slump in their core profit for 2023, while debt-ridden Country Garden delayed the publication of their corporate report.
Steel decreased 356 Yuan/MT or 9.06% since the beginning of 2024, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks the benchmark market for this commodity. Historically, Steel reached an all time high of 6198 in May of 2021. Steel - data, forecasts, historical chart - was last updated on April 26 of 2024.
Steel decreased 356 Yuan/MT or 9.06% since the beginning of 2024, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks the benchmark market for this commodity. Steel is expected to trade at 3392.02 Yuan/MT by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate it to trade at 3263.51 in 12 months time.