Posted on 30 Jun 2025
Daily crude steel output among the member mills of the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) retreated over June 11-20 from the first ten days of this month, declining by 0.5% or by 11,000 tonnes/day to 2.15 million t/d on average, according to the association's latest release on June 26. Average daily output during mid-June was also 1.7% lower than during the same period last year, it notes.
Market sources attributed the decline in output to the fact that the enthusiasm of these mills for cranking up production has waned. They note that demand from end-users began shrinking after work on construction sites slowed amid heat waves and downpours across many parts of the country.
A further retreat is likely during the current 10-day period following massive flooding from this week's torrential rains in southern China's Guangxi, Guizhou and Guangdong provinces – regions still suffering after Typhoon Wutip two weeks ago, Mysteel Global notes.
However, CISA estimated the country's daily crude steel output over June 11-20 averaged 2.77 million t/d, rising by a tiny 1.2% from June 1-10, according to the release.
In mid-June, the daily trading volume of long steel items – rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil – among the 237 Chinese trading houses under Mysteel's tracking hovered low at 97,847 tonnes/day, down 6.3% or 6,611 t/d from early June's average.
Chinese finished steel prices had been fluctuating at low levels during mid-June. The country's national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar, for example, was assessed by Mysteel at Yuan 3,220/tonne ($449/t) including the 13% VAT as of June 20, lower by Yuan 5/t from that on June 10.
In parallel, domestic steel prices had not won much support from steelmaking raw materials prices. By June 20, the Mysteel SEADEX 62% Australian Fines price index for iron ore had fallen by $1.4/dmt during the same period to $93/dmt CFR Qingdao.
On the other hand, slack spot sales saw finished steel stocks at the association's member mills grow further by 2.7% or 420,000 tonnes from June 10 to 16.2 million tonnes as of June 20, according to CISA. This was still down 1.3% from the corresponding period last year, though.
Source:Mysteel Global
