Posted on 10 Nov 2023
China's production of crude stainless steel declined further during October, with the total volume slipping for a second month by another 2.6% on month to reach 3.1 million tonnes, according to Mysteel's latest monthly survey among the country's 43 stainless producers.
The on-month fall was mainly reflected in the production of 200- and 300-series stainless, which declined by 0.2% and 8.4% respectively from that in September, while output of 400-series stainless increased further by 11.5% on month, the survey showed.
Stainless output among China's 43 mills in Oct (Unit: tonnes)
Product | Oct | MoM(%) | YoY(%) |
200-series | 994,000 | -0.2% | 6.4% |
300-series | 1,534,000 | -8.4% | -7.1% |
400-series | 573,000 | 11.5% | 19.3% |
Total | 3,100,000 | -2.6% | 1.1% |
Source: Mysteel
Last month's decrease came as no surprise to market watchers as more 300-series stainless producers in China had conducted maintenance on their steelmaking facilities or slowed their pace of production, Mysteel Global learned. Austenitic stainless makers continue to struggle with shrinking profit margins as stainless prices are softening due to depressed demand among stainless end-users.
China's stainless prices lost more ground in October, with the spot price of 304/2B 2mm stainless cold-rolled coil in Wuxi under Mysteel's assessment sliding to Yuan 15,300/tonne ($2,100/t) in-warehouse and including the 13% VAT as of October 31, lower by another Yuan 450/t compared with the end of September.
Although stainless inventories at traders' warehouses declined somewhat last month, the decrease was limited as end-users were inactive in restocking – except for those purchasing products to fulfil their immediate needs, Mysteel Global noted.
As of October 26, stainless stocks in the 42 warehouses in Wuxi and the 25 in Foshan, China's two core stainless trading hubs, totalled 950,973 tonnes, dipping by 7,390 tonnes compared with one month earlier, according to Mysteel's regular survey.
Stainless output among the sampled mills is expected to slip further in November to reach 2.95 million tonnes, lower by another 4.8% on month, or down 2.3% on year, Mysteel estimates.
Last month, the combined output of crude stainless at the steel mills in Indonesia operated by Chinese makers Tsingshan Holding Group and Jiangsu Delong Nickel Industry Co reached 397,200 tonnes, higher by 9.4% on month, according to Mysteel's findings. Production this month is expected to edge down 0.5% on month to 395,000 tonnes.
Source:Mysteel Global
