Posted on 21 Nov 2023
The Q235 150mm square billet price in Tangshan, China's leading steel-producing city in North China's Hebei province, increased further by Yuan 30/tonne ($4.2/t) on week to Yuan 3,660/t EXW and including the 13% VAT as of November 19, according to Mysteel's assessment, buoyed by resilient consumption among re-rollers and positive macroeconomic news, survey respondents said.
"Regarding billet fundamentals, the growth in demand has outpaced that of supply," one respondent pointed out. Indeed, total billet consumption among the 55 re-rollers in Tangshan under Mysteel's tracking increased for the second week during November 9-15, rising by 3,400 tonnes/day on week to hit a two-month high of 62,800 t/d on average.
In parallel, daily billet output among the 30 local steel mills under Mysteel's coverage also rose for the second week, picking up by another 2,000 t/d to 47,500 t/d over November 10-16 to reach a one-month high, as mills had cranked up semis supplies after profit margins had improved, Mysteel Global understands.
Meanwhile, the capacity utilization rate among the 89 blast furnaces in Tangshan that Mysteel follows also gained on week, rising by 1.94 percentage points during the same period to 90.56%.
Thanks to the further increase in semis prices, the losses on billet sales that local steelmakers had suffered eased further, with the average loss endured by the ten integrated mills in Tangshan that Mysteel checks registering Yuan 59/t on November 17, narrowing by Yuan 77/t on month.
As for inventories, total billet stocks across the four commercial warehouses and two ports in Tangshan that Mysteel monitors had reversed down by 52,700 tonnes on week to 1.21 million tonnes as of November 16.
On the other hand, billet inventories held by the sampled 55 re-rollers stayed unchanged from the previous week at 398,700 tonnes as of November 15, according to the survey.
Source:Mysteel Global
