On March 30th, the price of HRB400 20mm diameter rebar in China reached its 9.5-year high of 4,911 yuan per ton ($755 / t) at the factory price, including 13% value-added tax. Despite the cautious market conditions, the daily trading volume of construction steel declined, according to a survey by Mysteel. The daily workload on the second working day increased by another 18.4%.
By Tuesday, the price of rebar had strengthened for the fourth consecutive working day, although the pace had slowed, with the price rising by only 4 yuan per ton. This was mainly due to market confidence in the fundamentals, believing that demand would remain strong throughout the strong season and that supply was unlikely to be short.