Posted on 02 Jul 2024
The price of Q235 150mm square billet in North China's Tangshan under Mysteel's assessment sat at Yuan 3,300/tonne ($454/t) EXW and including the 13% VAT as of June 30, unchanged from one week earlier. Local billet production appeared largely stable, while demand shrank modestly during the week, according to Mysteel's weekly survey.
Daily billet output among the 25 steelmakers in Tangshan that Mysteel tracks averaged 43,300 tonnes/day over June 21-27, edging up 1,300 t/d on week. A few mills increased their billet output due to improved sales last week, but most maintained steady production, according to the survey.
On the demand side, some local re-rollers suspended production and began maintenance due to losses on steel sales and high finished steel inventories. As a result, daily billet consumption among the 48 re-rollers that Mysteel monitors in Tangshan declined by 1,800 t/d on week over June 20-26 to average 52,700 t/d.
As of June 26, billet stocks held by the surveyed re-rollers thinned for the second week, down 61,500 tonnes on week to 330,500 tonnes, as some re-rollers had tapped into the billets stocked in their yards for production, survey respondents said.
Meanwhile, total billet inventories at local retailers mounted for the sixth straight week last week, with the tonnage in the four commercial warehouses and two ports in Tangshan that Mysteel follows rising by 24,100 tonnes on week to 986,200 tonnes as of June 27. Some imported billets had arrived at the local ports last week, according to survey respondents.
On the other hand, the average cost incurred producing the billet by the ten steel mills in Tangshan that Mysteel checks eased by Yuan 15/t on week to Yuan 3,339/t including the 13% VAT last week, while the average loss they endured when selling those semis had reached Yuan 39/t as of June 28, according to Mysteel's data.
Source:Mysteel Global
