Posted on 13 Aug 2024
The Q235 150mm square billet price in Tangshan in North China's Hebei province under Mysteel's assessment declined further last week, slumping by Yuan 100/tonne ($13.9/t) on week to reach Yuan 3,020/t EXW and including the 13% VAT as of August 11, as spot trading of the semis remained weak in the local market with only a few re-rollers making some purchases during the week, according to the weekly survey.
Billet demand from re-rollers in Tangshan shrank last week as their sales of finished steel slowed down overall, according to the survey. Over August 1-7, the daily consumption of billets among the 48 local re-rollers that Mysteel tracks declined for the second week, down by 7,000 tonnes/day on week to hit a one-and-half-month low of 34,100 t/d on average.
By August 7, billet stocks at the same surveyed re-rollers had thinned by 29,100 tonnes on week to 431,900 tonnes, as they mainly digested billet stocks in their yards and only bought the semis for immediate use.
As for supply, daily billet output among the 25 steelmakers in Tangshan Mysteel monitors slipped for the second week, down by 1,500 t/d on week to average 38,200 t/d over August 2-8, marking a new low in three months, as some billet producers had commenced maintenance on blast furnaces.
The average cost of producing the semis incurred by the ten major mills in Tangshan slid by a small Yuan 4/t on week to Yuan 3,331/t including the 13% VAT last week. However, their average loss on billet sales widened by Yuan 66/t on week to Yuan 271/t on August 8, Mysteel's data found.
On the other hand, total billet stocks across four commercial warehouses and two ports in Tangshan Mysteel follows increased again, up by 49,500 tonnes on week to 1.1 million tonnes as of August 8, mainly as billet deliveries from southern China continued to arrive at local ports, sources said.
Source:Mysteel Global
