Metals & Mining Theme, Ferrous

January 02, 2024

Platts changes China domestic Beijing rebar weight basis specification

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, has changed the weight basis of its China domestic rebar Beijing price assessment to theoretical weight from actual weight effective Jan. 2, 2024, reflecting the basis on which most Chinese domestic transactions take place.

Platts first proposed these changes on Nov. 17: https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en/our-methodology/subscriber-notes/111723-platts-proposes-to-update-china-domestic-beijing-rebar-weight-basis-specification.

The decision to implement the proposed specification change was communicated in a subscriber note published Dec. 1: https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en/our-methodology/subscriber-notes/120123-platts-to-change-china-domestic-beijing-rebar-weight-basis-specification.

Following the market consultation, feedbacks gathered indicated an increasing demand for the domestic rebar Beijing price assessment to be assessed in theoretical weight to better reflect current market conditions and facilitate parity comparisons between domestic Chinese rebar prices and Platts CFR Southeast Asia rebar price assessment.

The change also aligns with the theoretical weight specification underlying the Shanghai Futures Exchange rebar futures contract.

This weight basis specification change applies to the following assessments:

Affected Assessments/Calculations Code Previous Specification Revised Specification
Rebar Ex-Stock Beijing VAT-inclusive Yuan/Mt SB01198 Actual Weight Theoretical Weight
Rebar Ex-Stock Beijing VAT-inclusive $/Mt SB02198 Actual Weight Theoretical Weight
Rebar Ex-Stock Beijing VAT-inclusive MAvg Yuan/Mt SB01300 Actual Weight Theoretical Weight

The change has also been reflected in the calculation of Platts China Steel Mill Margins for Chinese domestic rebar (AMVSB00 and AMVSB03).

The assessments are published on fixed pages PMA/STL1215, PMA/STL1360, PMA/STL1315, PMA/STL1331, PMA/STL1330 of the real-time Platts Steel Alert and Platts Metals Alert, in World Steel Review and Steel Price Report, in SBB Steel Markets Daily, in SBB Daily Briefing, in Platts Connect, in Platts Market Center and in the Platts price database.

Detailed specifications of Platts rebar assessments can be found here: https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en/our-methodology/methodology-specifications/metals/steel-ferrous-scrap-ferroalloys-and-noble-alloys-methodology.

Please send any inquiries and comments to PL_Asia_Steel@spglobal.com and pricegroup@spglobal.com.

For written comments, please provide a clear indication if comments are not intended for publication by Platts for public viewing.

Platts will consider all comments received and will make comments not marked as confidential available upon request.