On the 9th, spot market prices for building materials rose slightly. Prices in Jinan, Changsha, Wuhan, and Chengdu increased by 20—30 yuan/ton, while prices in Zhengzhou, Shijiazhuang, and Harbin fell by 10—20 yuan/ton. The current national average price for HRB400 20MM is 3,524 yuan/ton, up 6 yuan/ton compared with the previous trading day.

　　According to market feedback, after returning from the holiday, market demand was released relatively actively yesterday, and traders accordingly raised transaction prices. Today, traders are habitually pushing low-priced resources toward higher levels. However, the release of market demand has not continued well. On the resource side, most steel mills made normal deliveries after the holiday, and total inventory increased, but certain specifications from some steel mills remain in short supply. Overall, most traders currently maintain a wait-and-see, consolidating mindset, though some are bearish and some bullish. Building materials prices are expected to run in a consolidating range tomorrow.

　　In today's industry news, against the backdrop of a generally sluggish steel industry, China's scrap steel consumption for steelmaking has seen its first negative growth in ten years. According to statistics from the China Association of Scrap Steel Application, the country consumed 84 million tons of scrap steel for steelmaking last year, down 7 million tons, or 7.7%, from 91 million tons in 2011. Experts say that in the long run, the scrap steel market will continue to develop upward driven by steel demand, but the weak conditions in the scrap steel market this year will not be fundamentally alleviated.