Shanghai steel futures were trading around the 4,200 yuan a tonne level in February, amid a build-up in raw-material inventories as demand eased ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday. Looking for the supply side, the continued restart of steel plants amid a broader global economic recovery could also create some downward pressure on prices. Elsewhere, the steel industry and union groups in the US urged President Joe Biden to maintain a 25% national security tariffs on steel imports imposed in 2018 to protect the industry from a flood of excess global production.
