Steel GlobalImport/Export

South Korea has officially begun an anti-dumping (AD) investigation into carbon steel and alloy steel Hot-Rolled Coil (HRC) imports from China and Japan, according to a release from the country's Korea Trade Commission (KTC) on March 4.The KTC is reacting to a complaint lodged by South Korea's second-largest steel company, Hyundai Steel, claiming that the influx of low-priced HRCs from China and Japan has damaged the local steel market, as Mysteel Global reported. The AD investigation covers the period of July 1 2023 to June 30 2024,

MONTHLY: China's construction steel prices to fluctuate in March

Chinese prices of construction steel including rebar and Wire Rod are anticipated to lose ground at the beginning of March before showing signs of rebounding later, suggests Mysteel in its latest monthly report. Moreover, the extent of any rebound will largely hinge on the pace of demand recovery, the report cautions.

Throughout February, domestic prices for construction steel saw some declines amid weak market fundamentals. On February 28, Mysteel assessed China's national price for HRB400E 20mm dia rebar at Yuan 3,441/tonne ($473/t) and including the 13% VAT, marking a decrease of Yuan 33/t from the previous month.

The report noted that construction steel output across China saw an uptick in February as steelmakers gradually resumed operations or lifted production after the Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday.

By the end of February, weekly rebar output among the 137 Chinese steelmakers tracked by Mysteel had increased by 288,300 tonnes on month to 2.07 million tonnes. Similarly, weekly wire rod production among the 92 monitored mills reached 718,100 tonnes, up 16,300 tonnes from the month before. However, these figures were lower by 37,900 tonnes and 42,400 tonnes on year, respectively.

For March, Mysteel forecasts a modest rise in China's construction steel output, with mills likely to be cautious about ramping up production.

Inventories of construction steel saw significant accumulations last month due to higher production and subdued demand. For instance, rebar stocks held by the 137 sampled steelmakers totaled 2.34 million tonnes by the end of February, increasing by 314,200 tonnes on month. Traders in the 35 cities monitored by Mysteel reported an even larger increase, with their stocks rising by 1.8 million tonnes during the same period to reach 6.29 million tonnes.

Despite these on-month increases, the report maintained that current inventory levels remain relatively low compared with previous years, providing some support to prices. It also cited the potential for stocks to trend downward starting from mid-March.

Spot trading activities showed improvement in February as the market gradually reverted from CNY holiday mode. The trading volume of long steel items, including rebar, wire rod, and bar-in-coil among the 237 trading houses under Mysteel's coverage recorded a 21.6% on-month gain, averaging 80,219 tonnes/day last month, the latest data show.