Posted on 19 May 2015
China steel price slumps to 12-year low
Chinese prices of steel used mostly to build homes and offices fell
to a 12-year low as peak construction season begins to ebb in the
world’s biggest consumer.
The average spot price of steel reinforcement bar, or rebar, dropped
for a 10th day to 2,458 yuan ($396) a metric ton, the lowest level since
January 2003, according to data from Beijing Antaike Information
Development Co.
Spot rebar is 11 percent lower this year after four straight annual
drops as a prolonged slump in China’s property sector has hurt steel
demand. Prices have fallen after reaching a two-month high in March
ahead of the usual peak-demand period from April to June. New home
prices slid in 69 of the 70 cities tracked by the government in April
from a year earlier, National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday.
“For downstream industries like construction, we’re already at the
peak of the season or already passed it,” said Ginger Ding, an analyst
at Metal Bulletin Research in Shanghai.
China’s steel demand slumped 6 percent in the first quarter and may have
peaked over the long term, the China Iron and Steel Association said
last month.
Crude-steel production in April slid 0.7 percent from a year earlier
to 68.91 million tons, while investment in fixed assets expand at the
weakest in almost 15 years, the statistics bureau said last week.
Infrastructure and construction together account for about two thirds of
China’s steel demand, according to HSBC Holdings Plc.
The contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell on April 10 to the
lowest since trading began in 2009. Futures retreated 1 percent to
close at 2,349 yuan a ton. Iron ore with 62 percent content at Qingdao
declined 1.6 percent to $61.31 a dry ton on Friday, according to Metal
Bulletin Ltd.
"Without a major injection of stimulus into China’s economy, we think
that prices will come under pressure again as demand moves out of peak
season,” HSBC analysts wrote in a note May 18.
Malaysian exhibitors,
led by the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE),
secured RM3.54 billion in potential sales during the four-day Offshore
Technology Conference (OTC) 2015 amid the recovering phase in the oil
and gas industry.
The delegation managed to secure high sales as the major oil & gas
companies were looking for new competitive supplies.
MATRADE Director for Oil & Gas and Chemical Section Abu Bakar
Koyakutty said the sales were generated mostly from the products’ sector
including seamless steel pipe, casing & tubing, premium connections
and lightning surge protective device.
The Malaysia Pavilion at OTC 2015 consisted of 19 manufacturers and
service provider in the oil & gas sector, including Eversendai
Engineering and Muhibbah Engineering (M) Bhd.
During the four-day exhibition, MATRADE also arranged over 200
one-to-one business meetings for the Malaysian exhibitors.
In conjunction with the event, the Malaysia Pavilion hosted Industry
Talks by speakers from the Malaysian oil & gas exhibitors and
external speakers from the industry, the promotion agency said in a
statement.
Abu Bakar said that MATRADE would continue to promote the oil & gas
sector to the world market and provide a platform for export ready small
and medium enterprise (SME) companies to tap opportunities in the oil
& gas sector.
This year, in addition to OTC, MATRADE will organise specialised
missions for the oil & gas sector to countries such as Azerbaijan,
Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Timor-Leste, Myanmar, Kuwait, the United Arab
Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Vietnam.
With these, Malaysian oil & gas companies can make inroads into the
international market by providing high quality products and services to
cater to the needs of the global players, the statement added.
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http://www.nst.com.my/node/84788
