Posted on 24 Apr 2024
Prices of semis in Tangshan in North China's Hebei province under Mysteel's assessment rose further during April 15-21, mainly bolstered by improved market sentiment and the uptrend in finished steel prices, according to the weekly survey.
By April 21, the Q235 150mm square billet price in Tangshan had climbed by Yuan 60/tonne ($8.3/t) on week to reach Yuan 3,470/t EXW and including the 13% VAT, Mysteel's assessment showed.
Thanks to the further rise in semis prices, profit margins on billet sales enjoyed by local steelmakers increased, with the average profits among the ten integrated mills in Tangshan under Mysteel's tracking registering Yuan 190/t on April 19, higher by Yuan 78/t on week.
Meanwhile, the per tonne cost incurred by these mills when producing semis edged up by Yuan 12/t on week to Yuan 3,300/t including the 13% VAT, according to the survey.
However, daily billet output among the 24 steelmakers in Tangshan Mysteel follows reversed down by 4,500 tonnes/day on week to average 38,000 t/d over April 12-18, with a few mills conducting maintenance on converters or resuming operations on rolling mills, the survey noted.
On the other hand, Tangshan's re-rollers acted cautiously about buying the semis last week due to their losses on finished steel and the pressure of rising steel stocks, according to the survey.
Over April 11-17, daily steel consumption among the 48 re-rollers in Tangshan Mysteel monitors dropped by 16,700 t/d on week to 45,200 t/d on average.
These re-rollers mainly digested billets at their yards last week, which led their total billet inventories to decline by 82,400 tonnes on week to reach a two-month low of 350,600 tonnes as of April 17.
Also, total billet stocks across the four commercial warehouses and two ports in Tangshan that Mysteel checks thinned further though at a slower pace, dipping by 48,600 tonnes on week to 900,200 tonnes as of April 18, against the 93,000 tonnes fall in the previous week. This suggested the pace of procurement from local re-rollers had slowed down last week, a survey respondent said.
Source:Mysteel Global
