Posted on 26 Oct 2022
Daily crude steel output among the member mills of the China Iron & Steel Association (CISA) during the middle ten days of October continued the decline that began in late September to reach a 1.5-month low of 2.06 million tonnes/day, according to the latest data released by the association on Tuesday.
Average daily output over October 11-20 fell by 2% or 42,800 t/d from the first ten days of this month, the CISA data showed, as operations among mills in some regions including North and Northwest China were still subject to curbs during the period to combat air pollution. Meanwhile, the mills were not keen to ramp up output because their profit margins were thinning as well, market sources said.
Based on its member-mill results, CISA also estimated the country's daily crude steel output averaged 2.79 million t/d during mid-October, lower by 1.2% from October 1-10.
Mysteel's survey among a larger group of 332 Chinese steelmakers comprising 247 blast-furnace and 85 electric-arc-furnace mills was in sync with CISA's result, as their daily crude steel output slid 0.4% or 12,100 t/d during the ten days to average 2.88 million t/d during mid-October, as reported.
Chinese finished steel prices headed down in mid-October as steel demand from end-users remained lackluster. For example, the country's national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar under Mysteel's assessment slumped by Yuan 162/tonne ($22.2/t) from that on October 10 to hit a three-month low of Yuan 4,039/t including the 13% VAT by October 20.
The daily trading volume of rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil among the 237 Chinese trading houses regularly tracked by Mysteel averaged 156,308 t/d over October 11-20, well below the threshold of 200,000 t/d regarded as normal for this time of year.
On the other hand, total stocks of finished steel products held by the member mills mounted further by 8.6% or 1.4 million tonnes from October 10 to total 17.7 million tonnes as of October 20, a one-month high, according to the association.
Source:Mysteel Global
