China’s steel rebar futures prices fell for a third straight session on Monday, September 18, causing raw material prices to decline, against the backdrop of continued worries about waning demand from downstream sectors amid environmental inspections, which will impact both the supply and demand sides for steel, according to a report by Reuters.
Reuters stated that, in addition to the inspections, the municipal authorities in China’s capital, Beijing, have announced that effective from November 15 to March 15 it will suspend construction of major public projects in the city during winter to improve air quality.
On September 18, the most-active construction steel futures on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed 0.5 percent lower at RMB 3,801/mt ($579.75/mt), after touching their lowest in nearly four weeks at RMB 3,742 earlier in the day.
Meanwhile, on September 18, the most-traded iron ore futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange ended 0.4 percent higher, rising to RMB 511.5/mt ($77.86/mt), pulling back from a loss during the morning trade, amid falling inventories at Chinese ports.
According to Reuters, restocking demand for raw materials at mills is firm at this moment despite Beijing’s curb on production. However, the expectation of waning demand in the near future adds pressure on iron ore prices.