Posted on 16 May 2025
Daily crude steel output among the member mills of the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) stayed largely stable during the first ten days of May, according to the association's release on May 14.
These member mills' daily output for May 1-10 reached an average of 2.21 million tonnes/day, inching up by 0.1% or 3,000 t/d from late April, according to CISA statistics. This result was also 0.6% higher on year, the association notes.
Market sources noted that many integrated mills kept their blast furnaces running steadily in early May, supported by their sustained profit margins on steel sales.
This was in line with Mysteel's survey, which showed that as of May 8, 146 out of the 247 blast-furnace makers that it monitors nationwide could make some profits on selling steel items, up from 141 a week earlier.
Based on its members' output, CISA also estimated that China's national daily crude steel output averaged 2.8 million t/d over May 1-10, up 0.2% from the late April average.
On the other hand, finished steel inventories held by CISA's member mills mounted by 5% or 770,000 tonnes from the end of April to reach 16.1 million tonnes as of May 10. This result was down 1.4% or 220,000 tonnes from the same period of last year though, the CISA data found.
Behind the recent buildup of mills' steel stocks was the fact that steel end-users slowed their replenishment after the country's Labour Day holiday ended on May 5. Meanwhile, frequent rainfall and rising temperatures in some regions of China also constrained work on construction sites, Mysteel Global notes.
In early May, the spot trading volume of rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil among the 237 Chinese trading houses under Mysteel's tracking dropped by 12.5% or 14,609 t/d from the late April average to 102,704 t/d on average.
Insufficient downstream demand and rising stocks also pressed Chinese finished steel prices lower in early May. China's national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar, for example, assessed by Mysteel came in at Yuan 3,302/tonne ($458/t) and including the 13% VAT by May 9, falling by Yuan 49/t from the price on April 30.
Source:Mysteel Global
