(Updates with closing prices)
BEIJING, May 19 (Reuters) – Chinese hot rolled coils and rebar futures fell more than 5% on Wednesday as concerns over steel output cuts eased and construction activities are expected to slow in the coming rainy season.
The most-traded hot rolled coils on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, used in the manufacturing sector, ended down 5.2% at 5,678 yuan per tonne, the lowest close since April 30.
Construction-used steel rebar, for October delivery, declined 5.6% to 5,309 yuan a tonne.
“While there is no further policy on curtailing (steel) production, trading has shifted from expectations to reality,” GF Futures wrote in a note.
With the downstream sector close to entering an off-peak season, it will be hard for rebar to scale new peaks as prices are already high, GF Futures said.
China’s new construction starts in the first four months gained 12.8% from a year earlier, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed. That compared with a growth of 28.2% in the first quarter.
Prices of steelmaking ingredients on the Dalian Commodity Exchange also fell. Benchmark iron ore futures, for September delivery, dropped 3.3% to 1,193 yuan per tonne at close.
Dalian coking coal slipped 1.7% to 1,927 yuan a tonne and coke declined 2.8% to 2,572 yuan a tonne.
Stainless steel futures on the Shanghai bourse, for July delivery, rose 0.8% to 15,565 yuan a tonne. ($1 = 6.4276 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Min Zhang and Shivani Singh; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
