The domestic construction steel market saw a significant increase in prices in July. At the end of July, the average prices of Ø 8mmHPB300 high-speed wire and Ø 18-25mmHRB400 threaded steel in 28 major markets across the country were 3493 yuan/ton and 3316 yuan/ton, respectively, an increase of 179 yuan/ton and 205 yuan/ton from the end of June.
The inventory of construction steel has slightly decreased, and the decline continues to narrow. According to a survey conducted by the Steel Home website, the total inventory of the construction steel (threaded steel wire coil) market and steel mills on July 31st was 8.98 million tons, a decrease of 160000 tons from the end of last month and a decrease of 3.45 million tons from the same period last year. Among them, the total inventory of rebar was 6.69 million tons, a decrease of 270000 tons from the end of last month and a decrease of 2.64 million tons from the same period last year; The total inventory of the production line was 2.29 million tons, an increase of 110000 tons from the end of last month and a decrease of 810000 tons from the same period last year.
The trading volume of the rebar market has increased month on month. According to a sampling survey conducted on the Steel Home website, the average daily trading volume of rebar in July was 66100 tons, an increase of 2.78% compared to the previous month and an increase of 11.04% compared to the average annual trading volume in 2024.
The operating rate of blast furnaces has slightly increased, the operating rate of electric furnaces has slightly decreased, and the utilization rate of construction steel production capacity has fluctuated slightly. According to survey statistics, the average operating rate of blast furnaces in major domestic steel mills based on production capacity in July was 90.29%, an increase of 0.89 percentage points from the previous month; The average operating rate of independent electric furnace enterprises based on production capacity is 67.08%, a decrease of 0.42 percentage points from the previous month; The average utilization rates of production capacity for rebar and wire rod lines in major domestic steel mills were 62.16% and 74.64%, respectively, a decrease of 0.06 percentage points and an increase of 1.65 percentage points compared to the previous month.
Affected by the continuous high temperature, rainstorm and flood disasters in some areas, the construction of the construction industry slowed down. In July, the overall expansion of China's construction industry slowed down.
According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the business activity index of the construction industry in July was 50.6%, a decrease of 2.2 percentage points; The new order index is 42.7%, a decrease of 2.2 percentage points; The employee index is 40.9%, up 1.0 percentage point; The expected index of business activities is 51.6%, a decrease of 2.3 percentage points. In August, the domestic hot and rainy weather will continue, and the demand for construction steel will show a seasonal weakening trend. However, considering the current low inventory of construction steel, it is expected that the market price will show a trend of first suppressing and then rising, and overall it is expected to achieve a slight increase.
