Demand rebounds during peak season, steel prices fluctuate upwards.

In April 2026, the domestic steel market ushered in the traditional "Silver April" peak season for consumption, with the overall market showing a pattern of initial stability followed by a rise, a volatile but strengthening trend, and product differentiation. As temperatures rose across the country, infrastructure and public works projects resumed in various regions, releasing pent-up demand. Coupled with steel mills' proactive production control, continuous inventory reduction, and stable cost support, the overall steel market sentiment recovered significantly compared to the first quarter, and industry profitability steadily improved.

In terms of price trends, spot steel prices generally shifted upward in April, showing significant market recovery characteristics. In the first ten days of the month, the market maintained a cautious wait-and-see attitude, with prices consolidating within a narrow range and limited fluctuations. In the middle and latter parts of the month, with increased end-user procurement and continued improvement in transactions, steel prices began a phased rebound. By product type, industrial steel plates performed stronger, with hot-rolled coils and medium-thick plates seeing the largest price increases, mainly benefiting from the recovery in manufacturing production and sales and improved export orders. Construction steel followed suit, but due to uneven construction schedules in some regions, the increase was relatively moderate, resulting in an overall differentiated pattern of "strong plate steel and stable long steel."

The peak season effect on the demand side has fully materialized, with both domestic and international demand recovering simultaneously. In the domestic market, infrastructure investment continues to provide support, with accelerated implementation of transportation networks, water conservancy facilities, urban renewal, and pipeline renovation projects, effectively releasing pent-up demand for construction steel. The manufacturing sector is showing strong recovery momentum, with industries such as machinery manufacturing, new energy equipment, shipbuilding, and home appliances maintaining high operating rates, steadily expanding demand for high-end materials and continuously supporting the resilience of plate steel prices. Meanwhile, the steel export environment continued to improve in April, with increased orders for high-value-added products, effectively diverting domestic resource pressure and further boosting market confidence.

On the supply side, there is a proactive contraction and orderly adjustment. To adapt to the supply-demand balance during the peak season, the industry continues to implement self-regulatory capacity management, with many steel companies conducting concentrated equipment maintenance and staggered production, resulting in a month-on-month decline in average daily crude steel output and a slowdown in overall supply growth. Compared to the disorderly supply pressure in the first quarter, steel mills' production pace in April was more rational, with on-demand production and flexible adjustments becoming the mainstream, effectively alleviating the pressure of excess market resources and laying a solid foundation for stable steel price increases.

Inventory data continued its healthy decline, and the market supply and demand balance continued to improve. Entering April, national steel social inventories and steel mill inventories declined continuously, with a significantly accelerated destocking rate and substantial easing of inventory pressure in key regions. Traders' restocking sentiment became more proactive, but overall, replenishment was mainly based on immediate needs, with no blind hoarding. The market inventory structure was healthy, and circulation efficiency improved, further solidifying the foundation for price increases.

Cost support remained solid, and industry profitability continued to recover. In April, the upstream raw material market was generally strong, with narrowing fluctuations in iron ore and coking coal prices, and a steady increase in scrap steel procurement prices, providing a floor for finished steel prices. With the rebound in steel prices and stable raw material trends, steel mill profit margins continued to recover, and the overall industry profitability rate improved significantly compared to the previous period. Most companies escaped losses, and production and operational pressures continued to ease.

Overall, the steel market in April 2026 achieved a peak season recovery, with improvements in both supply and demand, healthy inventory reduction, and industry profitability recovery, resulting in a significant improvement in market operation quality. Looking ahead, May will remain a traditional peak season for consumption, and end-user demand is expected to remain resilient. However, as prices gradually rise, market sentiment may become more cautious, slowing the pace of price increases. Steel prices are expected to maintain a high-level fluctuation and a range-bound upward trend in the short term, with price movements continuously adjusting based on end-user transactions, inventory reduction, and changes in raw material prices.