FOCUS: Rebar demand in China expected to recover in Q2

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in China has weakened the country's rebar market in recent weeks, sending prices to their lowest in close to three years.

Fastmarkets' February 11 assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) domestic, ex-whs eastern China was 3,380-3,420 yuan ($485-490) per tonne, down 250-260 yuan per tonne from 3,640-3,670 yuan per tonne on January 23 - the last working day before the start of the Chinese New Year public holiday.
But market participants are expecting demand for the long steel product to recover in the second quarter of this year, and along with it, prices.
Construction restarts
With the exception of Hubei province, where the coronavirus is thought to originate, other provinces and major cities have arranged for businesses to start returning to work and resume production from as soon as this week.

In eastern China's major city of Hangzhou, key infrastructure projects could apply to resume work on February 10, while other less time-sensitive projects could put in applications for resumption from February 15 onward, according to...

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