Posted on 04 Jun 2024
Billet prices in Tangshan in North China's Hebei province retreated last week, as local re-rollers refrained from buying the semis amid their losses on steel sales and mounting stocks of finished steel at their yards, according to Mysteel's weekly survey.
As of June 2, the Tangshan Q235 150mm square billet price under Mysteel's assessment had lost Yuan 90/tonne ($12.4/t) on week to settle at Yuan 3,470/t EXW and including the 13% VAT. The weakening billet prices also reduced the profits earned by local billet makers, said survey respondents.
The ten major integrated mills in Tangshan that Mysteel follows made an average profit of Yuan 44/t on billet sales on May 31, lower by Yuan 35/t from the previous week, while the average cost they incurred on producing those semis slipped by Yuan 15/t on week to Yuan 3,466/t including the 13% VAT last week.
Over May 24-30, daily billet output among the 25 local steelmakers Mysteel monitors fell by 4,400 tonnes/day on week to average 43,100 t/d. However, survey respondents said most mills saw their billet sales stay largely steady over the survey period.
On the demand side, more re-rollers conducted maintenance stoppages last week in response to prolonged losses so their demand for billets decreased. Daily billet consumption among the 48 re-rollers in Tangshan under Mysteel's coverage during May 23-29 dropped by 12,900 t/d on week to average 38,100 t/d.
As of May 29, billet stocks across the 48 sampled re-rollers had edged up by 200 tonnes on week to 422,200 tonnes, due to the slower pace of procurement among the rollers, according to the survey.
In addition, total billet stocks across the four commercial warehouses and two ports in Tangshan that Mysteel monitors had mounted by 85,100 tonnes on week to 861,000 tonnes by May 30.
Source:Mysteel Global
