Chinese steel spot prices fell on Friday but were still up dramatically from a week earlier. Another cycle of increases may be coming this week, however, with Tangshan billet up again over the weekend, Kallanish notes.

20mm HRB400 rebar was trading in Shanghai at CNY 2,860-2,910/tonne ($442-449/t), up CNY 355/t from a week earlier. 5.5x1,500mm Q235B hot rolled coil was up CNY 320/t at CNY 3,060-3,100/t.

The October rebar contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange lost CNY 89/t over the day to close at CNY 2,619/t ($404/t), while the same contract for HRC closed down CNY 75/t at CNY 2,817/t.

The fall is not the end of China’s dramatic steel price recovery. Billet prices in Tangshan were again increasing over the weekend, by CNY 50-60/t on Saturday, suggesting another cycle of higher prices could be seen this week.