This week, the construction steel market experienced mild fluctuations with a generally downward bias. End-user demand remained weak, and the spot market sentiment was subdued due to volatility and declines in the futures market. As a result, traders showed increased willingness to reduce inventory, while downstream buyers remained cautious and largely inactive. Overall trading activity was relatively quiet.
Recent Price Movements in Key Steel Products
As of 29 May, the average price of 20mm Grade III seismic-resistant rebar across major cities in China stood at approximately 3,423 yuan per tonne, reflecting a week-on-week decrease of 9 yuan per tonne.
Meanwhile, the average price of 8.0mm HPB300 high-strength wire rod was reported at 3,569 yuan per tonne, down 12 yuan per tonne compared with the previous week.
These slight declines reflect ongoing market pressure driven by weak demand and cautious trading behavior.
Steel Market Overview: Tangshan Region Stability with Moderate Trading
In early trading on the 30th, the ex-works price of ordinary square billets in Qian’an, Tangshan remained stable at 3,010–3,020 yuan per tonne, depending on the mill. The warehouse spot price including tax was around 3,080 yuan per tonne.
Transaction activity in the billet market remained moderate, while downstream finished steel prices showed little change. Market sentiment overall remained stable but cautious.
Segment Performance Across Steel Categories
Structural Steel
Prices in the Tangshan structural steel market remained steady:
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I-beams: around 3,370 yuan per tonne
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Angle steel: 3,290–3,370 yuan per tonne
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Channel steel: 3,330–3,370 yuan per tonne
Trading activity mainly centered on discounted or lower-priced inventory, indicating limited demand strength.
Strip Steel
145mm strip steel: Prices held steady at approximately 3,270 yuan per tonne, with relatively weak transactions.
355mm strip steel:
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2.5mm × 355mm: Hongxing at 3,240 yuan/tonne, Xinda at 3,230 yuan/tonne
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3.0 × 685mm: Baigong at 3,270 yuan/tonne, Tianzhu at 3,260 yuan/tonne
Overall market performance remained stable but lacked strong momentum.
Hot-Rolled Coils
In the Tangshan flat coil market, prices remained unchanged:
1,500mm plain coils (Tangshan Steel, Anfeng): 3,340 yuan/tonne
Manganese flat coils: 3,460 yuan/tonne
Trading conditions were steady with moderate demand levels.
Medium and Heavy Plate
Prices in this segment also remained stable:
Standard 14–20mm medium plate (Hebei Steel): 3,480 yuan/tonne
Low-alloy plate: 3,660 yuan/tonne
Market transactions were stable and consistent with normal demand levels.
Market Outlook: Short-Term Stability with High-Level Fluctuations
Looking ahead, rebar consumption is gradually entering the off-season, which may continue to suppress demand growth. However, production increases remain limited, and the price gap between domestic and international markets still provides some support for pricing resilience.
On the cost side, disruptions in the coking coal supply chain continue to strengthen production cost support. With no major imbalance observed in the supply-demand fundamentals of finished steel products, and assuming pig iron output remains stable, the cost-driven support mechanism is expected to remain intact.
Conclusion
In the short term, steel prices are expected to continue fluctuating at relatively high levels, with limited downside risk but also constrained upside momentum due to weak demand conditions.
Overall, the market is likely to remain in a narrow, high-level oscillation pattern in the coming week.
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Wuxi Shide
