Issue 27, 2025 - This week's editorial: China government intervention proposals stir prices, Turkish scrap buying

The global market reacted cautiously last week to calls in China to curb unrestrained internal market competition, remove outdated capacity and restrict billet exports. However, the news did provide a boost to steel prices, including those of Chinese billet, which in turn encouraged Turkish mills to resume scrap import purchases. Demand for Turkish steel remained limited, though, after it emerged Türkiye had already exhausted its EU rebar and wire rod quotas for the third quarter. The EU meanwhile continued to toil with measures to support industry through decarbonisation.

China’s Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission concluded during its meeting last week that greater oversight was needed to limit fierce internal market competition and that outdated capacity should be withdrawn. However, production cuts so far have been limited, while obsolete capacity has been mentioned in various previous meetings that have failed to result in action.

The news boosted Chinese HRC futures and also supported the domestic and export markets. Due to weak demand, though, spot price momentum was limited, with many believing this round of price increases is purely speculation. Chinese domestic HRC values ended the week up $8/tonne on-week, while HRC export quotes shot up $10/t.

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