Posted on 22 Apr 2021
Chinese steel rebar and hot-rolled coil futures closed higher on Wednesday, picking up from early trade amid concerns of stricter capacity and output controls in the coming months as regulators tighten supervision.
The vice chairman of the China Iron & Steel Association told an industry conference that China’s goal of cutting crude steel output this year can be achieved by limiting production at blast furnaces.
Capacity at electric arc furnaces should not be curbed, but also cannot expand blindly, he added.
China’s emergency management ministry this week said it would investigate and punish “fake restructuring” at steel and coal companies.
The most-traded construction rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, for October delivery, traded range-bound in the morning session and ended up 1.5% to 5,188 yuan ($799) a tonne.
Hot-rolled coil SHHCcv1, used in cars and home appliances, rose 1.7% to 5,484 yuan per tonne at the close.
Benchmark iron ore futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange, for September delivery, gained for a fifth straight session and were up 1.4% at 1,101 yuan.
Spot prices of iron ore with 62% iron content for delivery to China jumped by $5 to $186.5 a tonne on Tuesday.
Other steelmaking ingredients on the Dalian bourse were mixed, with coking coal DJMU1 dropping 1.5% to 1,711 yuan a tonne, while coke DCJcv1 gained 1.0% to 2,579 yuan a tonne.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Shanghai stainless steel futures for June delivery slipped 0.1% to 13,915 yuan a tonne.
* China’s industry ministry said on Tuesday it would work with other departments to enhance supervision of raw material prices and crack down on speculators and market monopoly.
* BHP Group Ltd said on Wednesday it expects annual iron ore production to come in at the upper end of its forecast, although bad weather and planned maintenance at its South Flank project sent third-quarter output nearly 2% lower.
Source:Reuters
