Posted on 07 May 2024
As of May 6, the first working day after China's Labour Day holiday over May 1-5, the Q235 150mm square billet price in Tangshan was assessed by Mysteel at Yuan 3,500/tonne ($485/t) EXW and including the 13% VAT, up Yuan 40/t from April 30 mainly driven by the rising rebar futures and improved mood in domestic market, the weekly survey showed.
On the demand side, the capacity utilization rate of steel re-rollers in Tangshan grew last week, lifting their appetite for the semis modestly. Over April 25-May 1, daily billet consumption among the 48 local re-rollers under Mysteel's tracking rebounded by 13,300 tonnes/day on week to average 57,500 t/d.
As such, billet stocks held among these re-rollers thinned by 52,300 tonnes on week to a two-month low of 340,000 tonnes on May 1, according to Mysteel's tracking.
The survey also estimated that billet demand would rise further this week as steel prices strengthen, though the room for growth may be limited.
For production, daily output of billets among the 24 steelmakers in Tangshan Mysteel checks averaged 39,100 t/d over April 26-May 2, rising by 3,100 t/d on week, as several mills brought their blast furnaces back on stream.
The average cost incurred by the 10 mills in Tangshan Mysteel follows climbed further by Yuan 41/t on week to Yuan 3,384/t including the 13% VAT last week, and their average profit shrank by Yuan 11/t on week to Yuan 116/t on May 6.
Meanwhile, as of May 2 total billet inventories across four commercial warehouses and two ports in Tangshan reversed up by a small 7,100 tonnes on week to 887,600 tonnes, as billet trading activities in the spot market had slowed due to the holiday lull.
Source:Mysteel Global
