20.07.202606:38:34UTC+00Steel Drops on Demand Weakness

Steel rebar futures slipped below CNY 3,100 per ton, pulling back from one‑month highs as seasonally weak demand in China and deteriorating mill margins weighed on market sentiment. Prolonged rainfall across southern regions and high temperatures in the north continued to disrupt construction activity, curbing steel consumption.

Industry data showed that blast furnace capacity utilization at surveyed mills fell below 90% last week, while the share of profitable mills eased to around 37%.

On the trade front, recent Chinese customs data indicated that steel exports dropped 5.6% year-on-year to 57.87 million tons in the first half of the year. In June alone, exports stood at 10.32 million tons, down 0.2% from May but 6.6% higher than a year earlier. Over the same January–June period, China’s steel imports totaled 2.69 million tons, an 11.3% decline compared with the same period last year.