Posted on 09 Oct 2023
The market for billets in Tangshan in North China's Hebei province was generally tepid over September 29-October 6 as the country celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays, market watchers observed.
By the morning of October 8, the Q235 billet price in Tangshan had declined by Yuan 20/tonne ($2.7/t) from September 28 to sit at Yuan 3,460/t EXW and including the 13% VAT, according to Mysteel's assessment.
Although most re-rollers in Tangshan city maintained normal production during the eight-day break, downstream demand for finished steel in China was weak – most steel consumers having closed their businesses for the duration – which also weighed on billet prices to some extent, market sources noted.
Over September 28-October 4, total billet consumption among the 55 re-rollers under Mysteel's tracking rose by 6,700 tonnes/day or 9.9% on week to average 51,200 t/d. Yet at the same time, total billet inventories held by these re-rollers also moved higher by 16,500 tonnes or 4.6% on week to 377,800 tonnes, Mysteel's survey showed.
Regarding supply, steelmakers slowed their billet output during the long holiday, with daily billet output among the 30 mills under Mysteel's coverage dipping by 1,300 tonnes/day on week to 42,700 t/d over September 29-October 5.
During the same period, the capacity utilization rate among the 89 blast furnaces in Tangshan under Mysteel's tracking inched up by 0.67 percentage point on week to average 92.56%.
Meanwhile, the slow digestion of finished steel in China led total billet inventories across the four commercial warehouses and two ports in Tangshan under Mysteel's tracking to increase, with the tonnage gaining 6,700 tonnes or 0.7% on week to reach a more than four-month high of 889,500 tonnes as of October 5.
Source:Mysteel Global
