February 20, 2024
This week, overseas steel prices generally stabilized and weakened, and new international steel trade contracts fell week-on-week. Nucor Steel in the United States lowered its quotation for plate, and in Europe some steel shipments were blocked due to a strike by German train drivers. As the Chinese Spring Festival approaches, overseas steel export inquiries have stagnated and hot coil export prices have stabilized. Also affected by the Spring Festival, Vietnam's market transactions have basically stagnated, and the domestic trade and import markets have shown prices but no market. In terms of construction steel, the weak supply and demand situation in China's domestic trade is difficult to change in the short term. Steel mills, traders, sub-terminals, futures companies and downstream winter storage are not very enthusiastic, and small batch circulation is the main focus. At the same time, futures and spot prices are facing a wave of corrections. . Seaborne wire rod prices are lower. Singapore's rebar inventory is sufficient, and inquiry and trading activities are limited. Supported by the raw material side, rebar prices are expected to remain stable in the short term. Malaysian steel mills have a strong willingness to raise prices. Affected by the cold weather, Turkey's domestic rebar sales have slowed down, and the procurement of raw materials has also slowed down. Rebar prices are under pressure due to sluggish demand and lack of funds in India. The number of construction projects in Saudi Arabia has increased, the market has shown rising costs and strong demand, and the price of rebar has increased. In terms of steel billets, under the influence of the Spring Festival, billet prices in Southeast Asia have weakened, and rising rebar prices in Egypt have pushed up Russian billet prices. Iranian billet prices have increased due to currency depreciation and low inventory levels due to power shortages. Overall, market trading this week has been light and demand has gradually weakened. As the Spring Festival approaches, steel prices may continue their weak trend.
