Issue 42, 2024 - This week's editorial: China government meeting disappoints again, EU sees pricing hope

The Chinese stimulus bubble continued to deflate last week as yet another government meeting on real estate policy disappointed market expectations. Chinese hot rolled coil export prices started to retreat, but most buyers remained on the sidelines, while Turkish scrap market activity fell silent amid sufficient material availability and weaker rebar demand. Chinese early-October steel production increased again sequentially, suggesting steelmakers were employing their usual tactic of trying to catch higher prices with more volumes, before values inevitably fall back.

Five Chinese ministries and departments, including finance and housing, held a press conference on Thursday to promote real estate market improvement. Most of the measures announced were not new, causing huge disappointment and seeing Chinese rebar futures hit the bottom of the price limit, with HRC not far behind. For more, see the Asia section.

The latest data meanwhile revealed that China’s steel exports in September hit their highest monthly tonnage since July 2016, reaching 10.15 million tonnes, with expectations for the full year at well above 100mt. This further emphasises the importance of the success of measures to boost the Chinese economy.

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