Posted on 26 Mar 2024
Daily crude steel output among the member mills of the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) fell further during March 11-20, dipping by a slight 0.5% or 10,400 tonnes/day from early March to average 2.05 million t/d, according to the association's latest data released on Monday. The result was also lower by 9.1% from the same period last year, it said.
Behind the fall in daily output was the fact that some steelmakers had commenced maintenance stoppages on their blast furnaces in response to margin losses, according to market insiders.
Based on the latest data, CISA also estimated the country's daily crude steel output at 2.48 million t/d on average for the middle ten days of March, slipping by 0.4% from March 1-10.
On the other hand, finished steel stocks at the member mills stayed largely stable at 19.5 million tonnes as of March 20, edging up by 0.1% or 9,700 tonnes from March 10 or higher by 3% on year, according to the CISA data.
Meanwhile, domestic finished steel prices had initially trended downwards and then showed signs of rebounding during mid-March. As of March 20, China's national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar, an indicator of the country's steel-market sentiment, was assessed by Mysteel at Yuan 3,712/tonne ($514/t) and including the 13% VAT. The price had risen for two working days by a total of Yuan 46/t though compared with the price on March 8, it was still lower by a large Yuan 138/t.
The daily trading volume of construction steel comprising rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil among the 237 Chinese trading houses that Mysteel tracks averaged 130,760 tonnes/day in mid-March, surging by 32.5% from early March though falling by 21.3% from the corresponding period last year. The pick-up in steel consumption from end-users is proving weaker than this time last year, sources said.
Source:Mysteel Global
