Posted on 20 Oct 2025
The number of profitable blast-furnace (BF) steel mills in China has declined further after the National Day holiday over October 1-8, weighed down by persistently weak finished steel prices and elevated production costs, Mysteel's latest survey results showed.
As of October 16, about 55.4% of the 247 sampled BF mills reported making a profit on their steel sales, down 1.3 percentage points from the end of September.
Finished steel prices have gradually trended lower since the end of the holiday break, as end-user demand failed to meet market expectations for October -- traditionally a peak season for steel consumption thanks to favorable weather, Mysteel Global noted.
By October 16, Mysteel assessed the national average price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar at Yuan 3,212/tonne ($451/t) including the 13% VAT, down Yuan 49/t from the end of September, while that of Q235 4.75mm HRC fell Yuan 65/t to Yuan 3,333/t including the 13% VAT.
Many downstream users have been reluctant to build up stocks and only purchased on a need-to basis, as sentiment toward near-term Chinese steel prices remains subdued.
Mysteel's other survey showed that as of October 16, inventories of the five major steel products including rebar, wire rod, hot-rolled coil (HRC), cold-rolled coil (CRC) and medium plate at warehouses across 132 Chinese cities had continued to rise for the second consecutive week, up 0.7% to 18.3 million tonnes.
Meanwhile, Chinese BF mills' production costs have stayed high amid firm prices for key raw materials including iron ore and coke.
During October 10-16, the average cost of making hot metal among 114 Chinese BF mills under Mysteel's monitoring climbed to Yuan 2,289/t excluding the 13% VAT, up Yuan 10/t from end-September.
On October 16, Mysteel's SEADEX 62% Australian Fines iron ore index was assessed at $104.55/dmt CFR Qingdao, higher by $1.2/dmt from end-September. During the same period, Mysteel's national composite coke price increased Yuan 44.5/t to Yuan 1,423.4/t including the 13% VAT.
Source:Mysteel Global
