WEEKLY SUMMARY: China's major steel prices strengthen

China's prices of major steel products, including rebar, square billet and hot-rolled coil (HRC), moved up during the week of August 17-21, mainly thanks to the firmer cost support amid rising raw material prices and a modest recovery in demand from steel end-users.

Rebar: As of August 21, China's national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar was assessed by Mysteel at Yuan 3,237/tonne ($481/t) including the 13% VAT, up by Yuan 14/t from one week before. Rebar prices in the derivatives market also strengthened, with the most-traded contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange for