Steel rebar in China edged down on Tuesday, dragged lower by sluggish overseas markets while the coming rainy season also fuelled worries about demand for the construction material.

China’s steel products exports plunged 30% month-on-month in May to 4.4 million tonnes, data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Sunday.

“In line with expectations, weak global demand fed through to lower exports of Chinese steel,” commodities brokerage Jefferies wrote in a note.

Chinese producers and traders have also been unable to shift excess inventories to global markets due to the coronavirus crisis, it added.

Meanwhile, an early arrival of the rainy season in China’s southern region, where construction activities are usually higher than other areas, leaves demand for construction materials uncertain.

Steel rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SRBcv1, for October delivery, closed down 0.3% at 3,619 yuan ($510.93) a tonne.

Hot-rolled coils, used in the manufacturing sector, settled unchanged at 3,545 yuan a tonne.
FUNDAMENTALS

* Benchmark iron ore futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange, for September delivery, fell 1% to 770 yuan a tonne after two straight sessions of gains.

* Spot prices of iron ore with 62% iron content for delivery to China, however, jumped by $5.5 to $106 a tonne on Monday.

* Dalian coking coal DJMcv1 rose 0.9% to 1,192 yuan a tonne, while coke DCJcv1 dropped 0.5% to 1,956 yuan a tonne.

* Stainless steel futures SHSScv1, for August delivery, inched down 0.3% to 12,945 yuan a tonne.

* European steel producers on Monday urged the European Union to slash import quotas, warning a potential flood of shipments threatened an industry already hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Source: Reuters (Reporting by Min Zhang and Tom Daly; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Subhranshu Sahu)