Posted on 13 Jun 2023
Daily crude steel output in China edged down over the first ten days of June, with the volume falling by 16,000 tonnes/day or 0.5% from late May to average 2.94 million t/d, according to Mysteel's survey among the 247 blast-furnace (BF) and 87 electric-arc-furnace (EAF) steel mills it monitors nationwide.
The slight decrease was mainly due to the maintenance stoppages undertaken by EAF steel mills during the survey period, while production among BF steelmakers remained stable given their improved profit margins, Mysteel Global learned.
Over June 2-8, the capacity utilization rate among the 87 sampled EAF mills under Mysteel's regular tracking registered 45.79%, down for the second week by another 0.12 percentage point on week, and that among the 247 BF steel mills under its survey gained 0.01 percentage point on week to 89.67% during the same period, according to Mysteel's latest weekly survey.
China's domestic steel prices in both the physical and derivative markets strengthened in early June thanks to the improved sentiment in the domestic market amid industry expectations for new stimulus policies from the central government to boost economic growth, Mysteel Global noted.
As of June 9, the national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar, a bellwether of domestic steel-market sentiment, was assessed by Mysteel at Yuan 3,827/tonne ($536/t) including the 13% VAT, gaining Yuan 147/t from the end of May.
On the same day, the most-traded rebar contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange for delivery in October closed the daytime trading session at Yuan 3,711/t, higher by Yuan 263/t from the settlement price on May 31, the exchange's data showed.
The positive sentiment encouraged some end-users to return to the market for replenishment, boosting spot sales to some extent.
During the first ten days of this month, the daily trading volume of construction steel comprising rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil among the 237 Chinese trading houses under Mysteel's regular survey reached 159,902 t/d, up 17,433 t/d or 12.2% from the average for late May.
Source:Mysteel Global
