WEEKLY: China's HRC output rebounds, prices lose steam

After the prior week’s 2.2% slide, hot-rolled coil (HRC) production among the 37 Chinese steelmakers regularly surveyed by Mysteel rebounded again by 45,400 tonnes or 1.5% on week to 3.02 million tonnes during July 16-22, as some mills that had previously taken maintenance stoppages resumed production, Mysteel Global learned.

The average capacity utilization rate for strip mills among the surveyed 37 steelmakers edged up by 1.17 percentage points on week to 77.16% during the latest survey week, while the average operation rate stood unchanged at 79.69%, according to the survey findings. The rise in output, plus tepid sales, caused HRC inventories at mills to move higher as well, with stocks