Posted on 15 Mar 2022
Rebar profit margins among the 91 Chinese blast-furnace steel mills sampled regularly by Mysteel continued to shrink in February due to the further rises in mills' production costs, according to the latest monthly survey released on March 13.
Last month, the margin on rebars enjoyed by the steel mills under Mysteel's survey averaged Yuan 19/tonne ($3/t), down for the second month by another Yuan 32/t on month, the survey showed.
The further decrease was mainly attributed to the persistent growth in mills' production costs with the higher prices of steelmaking raw materials, especially of iron ore, Mysteel Global learned.
For February, the surveyed mills' costs for making molten iron averaged Yuan 3,435/t excluding the 13% VAT, up for the second month by another Yuan 50/t or 1.5% from the previous month.
Last month, Mysteel SEADEX 62% Australian Fines averaged $141/dmt CFR Qingdao, higher by another $10/dmt from January, while the price of class 2 metallurgical coke in North China fell by Yuan 229/t on month to Yuan 2,748/t on average, according to Mysteel's survey.
China's domestic steel prices firmed somewhat in February on support of low-level output, but the growth was limited as demand from end-users had not fully recovered, Mysteel Global noted.
As of February 28, China's national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar for example, was assessed by Mysteel at Yuan 4,868/t including the 13% VAT, gaining Yuan 51/t from the end of January.
The daily trading volume of construction steel comprising rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil among the country's 237 traders under Mysteel's tracking only averaged 100,294 tonnes/day over February 14-28 when Mysteel resumed the survey after the Chinese New Year holiday. This reflected the thin transactions in the physical market during the period.
Last month, the surveyed steel mills gained better profits on sales of flat steel compared with rebar, with that for hot-rolled coil (HRC) up by Yuan 19/t on month to average Yuan 175/t, and that for medium plate came in at Yuan 180/t on average, recording the best margin among the three products though it was Yuan 25/t lower from that for January, the survey showed.
Source:Mysteel Global
