Posted on 24 Nov 2023
Daily crude steel output among the member mills of the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) over November 11-20 reversed down from early November, though falling by just 0.08% or 1,500 tonnes/day to average 1.97 million t/d, according to the association's release late Wednesday. Average daily output during mid-November was lower by 1.6% on year, it notes.
Based on its member-mill results, CISA also estimated the country's daily crude steel output averaged 2.53 million t/d during the middle ten days of this month, slipping by a minuscule 0.06% from November 1-10.
Though some steelmakers observed maintenance stoppages during the period, the decline in their steel output was moderately offset by the fact that other mills had resumed production after their profit margins had significantly improved amid the increase in domestic steel prices, sources remarked.
The rising momentum of Chinese finished steel prices continued during mid-November thanks to better steel-market sentiment. The country's national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar, for example, jumped by another Yuan 71/tonne ($9.9/t) from November 10 to reach Yuan 4,056/t and including the 13% VAT as of November 20, according to Mysteel's assessment.
In mid-November, the daily trading volume of rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil among the 237 Chinese trading houses under Mysteel's tracking had fallen by 0.5% from the average for early November to 157,349 t/d on average, as actual demand from end-users appeared weak during the traditional slack steel consumption season.
On the other hand, tepid spot sales saw finished steel stocks at the association's member mills mount further by 4.4% or 640,300 tonnes from November 10 to reach 15.3 million tonnes as of November 20, according to CISA. This was still lower by 11.4% from the corresponding period last year, however.
Source:Mysteel Global
