Posted on 30 Apr 2024
The Q235 150mm square billet price in Tangshan in North China's Hebei province was rangebound last week, being assessed by Mysteel at Yuan 3,460/tonne ($477/t) EXW and including the 13% VAT as of April 28, lower by just Yuan 10/t on week. During the week, local re-rollers acted cautiously towards procurement of the semis as their sales of finished steel slowed and losses continued, according to the weekly survey.
During the survey period, the capacity utilization rate of Tangshan's re-rollers declined and their demand for billet weakened slightly, a survey respondent said.
Over April 18-24, daily billet consumption among the 48 re-rollers in Tangshan under Mysteel's tracking slipped by 1,000 tonnes/day on week to average 44,200 t/d.
Meanwhile, the cautious buying activities among these re-rollers led their billet stocks to accumulate, with their total inventories mounting by 41,700 tonnes on week to 392,300 tonnes by April 24.
On the supply side, the daily output of billets among the 24 steelmakers in Tangshan Mysteel follows averaged 36,000 t/d over April 19-25, shrinking by 2,000 t/d on week, mainly as some mills cranked up their finished steel production after completing maintenance on rolling lines.
As billet prices moved down last week, the profits enjoyed by steelmakers on their billet sales narrowed due to their higher production costs, according to the survey.
The average cost incurred by the ten mills in Tangshan Mysteel checks rose by Yuan 43/t on week to Yuan 3,343/t including the 13% VAT last week, and the average profits among these ten mills fell by Yuan 63/t on week to Yuan 127/t as of April 26.
On the other hand, lower output and weakening demand saw billet stocks at local retailers thin more slowly than during the previous week. Mysteel's survey showed that total billet inventories across four commercial warehouses and two ports in Tangshan dropped by a small 19,700 tonnes on week to 880,500 tonnes as of April 25.
Source:Mysteel Global
