SMM Daily Comment On Domestic Rebar Market (Oct 7)

SHANGHAI, Oct 8(SMM) – Domestic steel prices fluctuated on the first day after the National holiday, and demand performance was weak. On the supply side, some blast furnaces arranged annual inspections in advance, part electric furnace plants in the southwest region suspended production during the holiday, while other steel plants planned to cut production slightly, causing a minor drop in rebar output. Construction pace slowed down limited demand and transaction in many areas was sluggish. Since replenishment didn’t promote demand yet and the futures market was closed, the trading atmosphere throughout yesterday cooled down. In the future, routine maintenance of steel plants at the end of the year and the gradual implementation of production restrictions in the northern heating season will alleviate the oversupply state. However, the downstream funding and new project numbers see no significant increase. In the short term, simultaneous weakness of supply and demand is expected to continue, so steel prices may fluctuate mainly at low levels.