Posted on 26 Dec 2023
The price of Q235 150mm square billet in Tangshan in North China's Hebei province, the country's largest steel production hub, rebounded by Yuan 50/tonne ($7/t) on week to top Yuan 3,660/t EXW and including the 13% VAT as of December 24, Mysteel's assessment showed.
Procurement of the semis from local re-rollers recovered to some extent after their finished steel sales improved, according to Mysteel's weekly survey. Consequently, billet stocks at re-rollers' yards also increased last week.
As of December 20, the tonnage held by the 55 re-rollers in Tangshan tracked by Mysteel had mounted by 45,800 tonnes on week at 346,500 tonnes.
As for consumption, daily billet consumption among the surveyed 55 re-rollers averaged 50,600 tonnes/day over December 14-20, lower by 6,300 t/d on week. A few re-rollers suspended their production during the survey period, respondents said.
On the other hand, the daily billet output among the 30 steelmakers in Tangshan under Mysteel's tracking gained for the second week, rising by 7,800 t/d on week to 47,900 t/d on average over December 15-21, as some blast furnaces among the local mills had been brought back on stream, sources said.
The average cost for producing billet among the ten integrated steel mills in Tangshan monitored by Mysteel moved up by Yuan 32/t on week to Yuan 3,884/t including the 13% VAT last week, while the mills' average loss on billet sales narrowed by Yuan 18/t on week to Yuan 204/t on December 22.
Meanwhile, total billet stocks at the four commercial warehouses and two ports in Tangshan that Mysteel follows paused from a two-week rise, declining by 69,400 tonnes on week to 1.21 million tonnes as of December 21.
Source:Mysteel Global
