MYSTEEL: Costs edge down, number of loss-making BF mills dips

The number of loss-making blast-furnace (BF) steel mills in China declined slightly during the week of October 9-15, mainly reflecting the decline in prices of major steelmaking raw materials which helped lower hot metal production costs, Mysteel Global learned.

Mysteel data showed that among the 247 BF mills regularly tracked, about 8.2% reported they could earn profits on finished steel sales over October 9-15, rising by 1.3 percentage points from the prior week. Prices of major steelmaking raw materials such as iron ore and metallurgical coke declined after China's