Posted on 27 Jun 2024
Daily crude steel output among the member mills of the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) retreated over June 11-20 from the first ten days of this month, declining by 2.8% or 63,200 tonnes/day to 2.19 million t/d on average, according to the association's latest release on Wednesday. Average daily output during mid-June was also 3.4% lower than the same period last year, it notes.
Market sources attributed the decline in output to the fact that the enthusiasm of these mills for cranking up production had waned as demand from end-users slackened when work on construction sites slowed amid heat waves and torrential rains across many parts of the country.
Based on its member-mill results, CISA also estimated the country's daily crude steel output averaged 2.87 million t/d over mid-June, slipping by 2.3% from June 1-10.
In mid-June, the daily trading volume of rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil among the 237 Chinese trading houses under Mysteel's tracking hovered low at 120,888 tonnes/day, down 0.7% or 800 t/d from early June's average.
Chinese finished steel prices lost further ground during mid-June. The country's national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar, for example, was assessed by Mysteel at Yuan 3,695/tonne ($509/t) including the 13% VAT as of June 20, lower by Yuan 63/t from that on June 7.
Meanwhile, domestic steel prices had not sourced much support from raw materials prices. By June 20, China's national composite coke index, for example, had slipped by Yuan 80.7/t from June 7 to Yuan 1,918.1/t.
On the other hand, tepid spot sales saw finished steel stocks at the association's member mills grow further by 2.1% or 339,500 tonnes from June 10 to reach 16.4 million tonnes as of June 20, which was also up 1.3% from the corresponding period last year, according to CISA.
Source:Mysteel Global
