Steel prices today, December 21st: Global prices rise, domestic prices remain stable.

Global market developments

At the end of the trading week, the global steel and iron ore markets recorded an upward trend, despite a correction at the end of the week on December 19th. The main driving force came from expectations that Chinese mills would increase their raw material reserves ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.

On December 19th, January 2026 rebar futures on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) edged down 0.3% to 3,116 yuan/tonne. Iron ore prices on the Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) remained almost unchanged at 796 yuan/tonne. In Singapore (SGX), the January 2026 iron ore futures contract fell $1.23 to $103.65/tonne.

However, overall for the week, these commodities all recorded significant increases. Specifically, Shanghai rebar rose by approximately 1.1%, Dalian iron ore by 1.9%, and Singapore iron ore by 1.6%. Notably, the most actively traded iron ore contract on the DCE recorded a weekly increase of 2.6%, reaching 780 yuan/tonne, its highest level since the end of October.

Causes and prospects

According to Reuters, iron ore prices were supported by expectations that Chinese steel mills would increase purchases to replenish inventories for production during the holiday period from mid to late February 2026. The market was also affected by shortages of certain types of iron ore after two product lines from BHP were banned from trading.

In addition, analysts suggest that China's steel exports could accelerate in the final month of the year, before the new export management mechanism takes effect from January 2026.

However, the upward momentum was hampered by weakening real demand. Data from Mysteel showed that average daily hot pig iron production in China fell 1.2% from the previous week, to 2.26 million tonnes as of December 18, the lowest level since the end of January.

For other raw materials, coking coal prices remained stable, while coke prices rose 1.36%. In the Shanghai finished steel market, rebar was almost unchanged, hot-rolled coil fell 0.24%, wire rod rose 0.86%, and stainless steel surged 2.58%.

Domestic construction steel market

In the domestic market, construction steel prices continue to be kept stable by major businesses to support consumption amidst the lack of a surge in year-end demand. Most brands have not recorded any new adjustments.

Reference price list for construction steel as of December 21st.