After the holiday, ferrous metals opened higher, but subsequent trends diverged—steel products and iron ore fluctuated at highs, while coke surged before pulling back. The strong rally during the week was mainly driven by disturbances outside China. During the holiday, the US-Iran standoff escalated with widening negotiation gaps, pushing raw materials to lead the gains in ferrous metals. Combined with capital inflows after the holiday, this provided a clear upward drive for prices. In the latter half of the week, market rumors suggested that Iran and the US had reached a consensus on easing the US naval blockade in exchange for the gradual reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and bears increased their positions in coke. Data on the five major steel products were released, showing weakness in both supply and demand, with inventory not accumulating after the holiday. On the spot market side, traders had a strong willingness to hold prices firm, and purchases were made in both futures and spot cargo at low price levels...

Indonesian state-owned steel giant PT Krakatau Steel (Persero) Tbk (IDX: KRAS, hereinafter referred to as "Krakatau") released its 2025 consolidated financial statements on March 31, 2026. On the surface, the company recorded a net profit of 339.6 million USD (approximately 5.68 trillion IDR), its best performance since 2019. However, unpacking the core steel business reveals that the steel segment's operating loss in 2025 actually widened from 40.79 million USD in 2024 to 102.5 million USD.

In March 2026, Turkey's wire rod exports surged by 128.3% month-on-month to 151,970 metric tons (mt), generating $88.53 million in revenue, though this remained 18.1% lower year-on-year. For the first quarter of 2026, total wire rod export volume dropped 11.3% year-on-year to 255,947 mt, while export value fell by 10.7% to $149.49 million, indicating that the strong March recovery could not fully offset the persistent three-month decline. Romania remained the top destination, receiving 133,280 mt (+6.8% year-on-year), followed by a notable 152.7% surge in shipments to Australia at 32,334 mt, but significant declines in markets like Italy and Kosovo weighed heavily on the overall export performance and shifted global supply flows.

Yongsteel 2026 Period 5-1 construction steel price adjustment: rebar and wire rod both remained stable; current rebar at 3,450 yuan/mt, plain wire rod at 3,650 yuan/mt, coiled rebar at 3,650 yuan/mt; compared with Period 4-3, rebar received a supplement of 160 yuan/mt, wire rod received a supplement of 185 yuan/mt; the electronic bank acceptance monthly discount rates for this period were 0.85‰ for Category I and II banks, 0.95‰ for provincial city commercial banks, and 1.15‰ for Category III and IV banks. [SMM Steel]

[Shagang Construction Steel Price Policy] On May 1, Shagang released its ex-factory prices for early May. Rebar and wire rod prices remained stable for the time being, with rebar at 3,350 and coiled rebar at 3,480. All prices above are tax-inclusive, effective from May 1, 2026. [SMM Steel]

This week, ferrous metals moved sideways and upward. During the week, as US-Iran negotiations made no progress and the Strait of Hormuz remained closed, combined with declining US crude oil inventories, Brent crude oil surged sharply, driving coking coal higher. Although BHP port spot cargoes were available for purchase, which was bearish for market sentiment, futures had already priced in related expectations earlier, so iron ore pullback was limited and cost support was relatively neutral. The Politburo meeting held mid-week had low direct correlation with ferrous metals, and ferrous metals fluctuated at highs during the week. Spot market side, end-users restocked at low prices before the holiday, and as futures rose in the latter half of the week, speculative demand was also released...