Posted on 27 Dec 2021
Over December 11-20, daily crude steel output among the member mills of China Iron & Steel Association (CISA) reversed down by 2.3% or 43,800 tonnes/day from early December to average 1.89 million t/d, according to the association's latest release on December 24. The retreat is chiefly due to seasonal restrictive measures among steel mills and ongoing production curbs to reduce air pollution in North China's Tangshan.
Based on the latest result, CISA estimated China's daily crude steel output reached an average of 2.4 million t/d in mid-December, down by 1.9% from the first 10 days of December. And as of December 20, finished steel stocks at those member mills increased further by 1.7% or 227,500 tonnes from December 10 to reach 13.57 million tonnes, or 16.8% higher from the start of 2021.
CISA's findings matched Mysteel's survey of production among a larger group of the 318 Chinese steelmakers comprising 247 blast-furnace and 71 electric-arc-furnace mills, which showed that their average daily crude steel output over December 11-20 refreshed the lowest since Mysteel commenced the survey in January 2018, down by 0.3% or 6,100 t/d from early December to 2.36 million t/d.
Chinese steel prices had moved up further during mid-December underpinned by relatively firm demand from eastern and southern parts of China, as the national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar under Mysteel's assessment, stood at Yuan 4,877/tonne ($766/t) including the 13% VAT as of December 20, up by Yuan 50/t from that on December 10.
Over December 11-20, the spot trading of construction steel comprising rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil among the 237 Chinese traders Mysteel tracks remained largely stable at 175,706 t/d on average, down by a small 1.2% or 2,121 t/d from that for early December.
Source:Mysteel Global
