Posted on 21 Nov 2024
Production of rebars in China declined more slowly in October, easing by 1.9% on year to 17.7 million tonnes, as against the 16.6% on-year plunge during September, according to the latest data released by the country's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). On a monthly basis, last month's volume increased for the second month by 15.7%, Mysteel Global calculated based on the NBS data.
Behind the on-month rise in rebar output last month was the fact that many Chinese steelmakers had maintained their production at a relatively high level, aiming to capitalize on improved steel margins, Mysteel Global notes.
The rebar rolling capacity utilization rate among the 137 Chinese steel mills that Mysteel regularly tracks was also in line with the NBS result, as their average run rate had risen by 10.4 percentage points on month to 52.4% in October. This result was lower by 3.7 percentage points from the same period last year, though.
Mysteel's other survey among the 51 rebar producers it follows nationwide showed that during October, they still managed to earn an average of Yuan 16/tonne ($2.2/t) on selling rebar, despite a Yuan 108/t drop from the prior month.
China's finished steel prices experienced a downward correction last month. For example, by October 31, the country's national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar, under Mysteel's assessment, had dropped by Yuan 313/t from the end of September to reach Yuan 3,631/t including the 13% VAT.
In contrast, the production costs of domestic steel mills remained largely firm – backed by healthy demand for steelmaking raw materials – climbing in sync with the rise in steel output. For example, China's national composite coke price was assessed by Mysteel at Yuan 1,788.9/t on October 31, higher by Yuan 149.9/t on month.
On the other hand, steel trading in the physical market did not show any substantial recovery last month, with the daily trading volume of construction steel comprising rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil among the 237 trading houses under Mysteel's tracking averaging 121,307 t/d, down by 1,333 t/d or 1.1% from September's average.
China produced 162.8 million tonnes of rebar over January-October, slipping by 14.3% on year, according to NBS. The country's total finished steel output registered 1.16 billion tonnes over the same period, edging up 0.5% on year.
Source:Mysteel Global
