WEEKLY: Chinese BF mills' output picks up, profit margins still low

Chinese blast furnace (BF) steelmakers' hot metal output edged up slightly during January 30-February 5, with the resumption of some furnaces following overhauls, although many mills still faced poor profit margins, according to Mysteel's survey.

During the latest survey period, the average capacity utilization rate among the 247 BF steel producers under Mysteel's tracking rose 0.2 percentage points from the previous week to 85.7%, while their combined hot metal production grew 0.3% on week to average 2.29 million tonnes/day. Over the same period, the average