WEEKLY SUMMARY: China's major steel prices lose ground

China's prices of major steel products, including rebar, square billet and hot-rolled coil (HRC), lost ground during December 22-26 amid the softening market sentiment and shrinking demand from end-users in the winter lull, Mysteel Global learned.

Rebar: On December 26, Mysteel assessed the national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar at Yuan 3,316/tonne ($473/t) including the 13% VAT, slipping by Yuan 9/t from one week before. Construction steel sales in the physical market slowed further during the traditional off-season in winter. Over December 22-26, the combined daily