China steel rebar prices are down over 20% year to date at 3,208 Chinese yuan ($450) per ton, data from financial information provider Wind showed.

“Chinese demand has been a major disappointment for metals across the board,” said Sarbin Chowdhury, head of commodities analysis at BMI.

Prices of China iron ore, the key material for steel, have plunged over 28% so far this year, according to FactSet data.

Workers process seamless steel pipes at a production line in Huai ‘an, Jiangsu province, China, Oct 20, 2022.

China’s steel industry has been struggling as the country’s property sector remains in the doldrums and is unable to absorb excess capacity, industry watchers told CNBC.

“Chinese demand has been a major disappointment for metals across the board,” said Sabrin Chowdhury, head of commodities analysis at BMI, highlighting the slump in steel and iron ore in particular.

“This is mainly due to the weak property sector in China. The property sector downturn is set to last several years, and that definitely does bode negatively for industrial metals that are required in infrastructure,” she added.

China is the world’s largest producer of steel, accounting for more than half the world’s output at over a billion tons a year.

It is also the world’s leading consumer of steel and iron ore, and prices for both materials have dropped as steel supply remains bloated amid weak domestic demand.

China steel rebar prices are down over 20% year to date at 3,208 Chinese yuan ($450) per ton, data from financial information provider Wind showed. Prices of China iron ore, the key material for steel, have plunged over 28% so far this year, according to FactSet data.