Recently, due to environmental protection restrictions on production capacity at steel mills in Hebei Province, China, and the cooling of China-US trade frictions, prices of hot-rolled coil (HRC) in the Chinese market have stopped falling and are now rising. 

Some mills in Tangshan city have been notified that their blast furnaces can only operate at 70% capacity, a measure that may last until the end of October. 

In addition, China agreed to extend rare earth export controls for one year and resume purchasing soybeans from the US. The US also canceled the 100% tariff originally scheduled for November, easing trade tensions. 

As a result, some Chinese mills raised export offers, and the appreciation of the RMB further increased export costs. HRC prices have also risen in Asian markets, particularly in Vietnam and Taiwan. However, buyers remain cautious about the continued upward trend.