Steel

Steel rebar futures rose past CNY 4,060 per tonne in January, the highest since late August, supported by expectations of higher demand and signs of tight supply. Iron ore costs in China jumped as cargo surveyors flagged a sharp decrease in shipment volumes from major producer Brazil, leaving blast furnaces scrapping for the steel-making ingredient. In the meantime, Chinese authorities opened the country’s mainland border with Hong Kong and halted quarantine requirements for incoming travelers, cementing the country's move away from its strict zero Covid policy and raising expectations of higher economic activity. To ramp up demand in recent weeks, the PBoC injected CNY 85 billion via reverse repos to support liquidity and banks agreed to extend $162 billion in new credit lines for private developers.

Historically, Steel reached an all time high of 6198 in May of 2021. Steel - data, forecasts, historical chart - was last updated on January of 2023.

Steel is expected to trade at 3922.26 Yuan/MT by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate it to trade at 3706.42 in 12 months time.