China’s daily crude steel output hit 2.62 million tonnes/day in May for a new record high, based on the latest data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on June 14. The May result surpassed the previous high of 2.56 million t/d set only in April.
Full-month raw steel output in May reached 81.1 million tonnes according to NBS, jumping by 8.9% on year and 6% on month, despite the production restrictions in North China’s Hebei – as the province battled against poor air quality – and in East China’s Jiangsu province where output was seen affected by the ongoing environmental protection inspections by the central government’s appointed taskforce.
The impact of the inspections on production was not as large as some feared, an official from a Jiangsu-based mill commented, because this time, producers were not instructed to trim operative capacity by perhaps 50% as many were asked to do earlier. “Also, those producers whose facilities met the required standards were allowed to resume normal production – which many eagerly did to enjoy the rosy margins available thanks the improved market demand.”
Mysteel’s latest survey of the 91 blast-furnace steel producers nationwide conducted during April 26-May 25 showed that steelmakers continued to enjoy decent margins, with the range during the survey period being up another Yuan 100-220/tonne ($15.9-34.9/t) from April thanks to the comparatively higher steel prices.
Elsewhere, market demand is not booming but is healthy, Mysteel noted, which was evidenced by the dip in stocks of the five most-consumed carbon steel products at Chinese trading houses. Stocks of the five continued declining for a thirteenth straight week, losing another 3.7% on week over May 31-June 6 to around 10.4 million tonnes as of June 6.
Over January-May, China’s crude steel output still grew 5.4% on year to 369.9 million tonnes, with the growth rate showing a rise – albeit tiny – against the 5% on-year growth witnessed over the first four months, according to the NBS database.
The country’s finished steel output in May recorded on-year growth of 11% to reach 97.1 million tonnes. The total finished-steel volume for the first five months reached 434.7 million tonnes, up 6.2% year on year, according to the latest NBS statistics.
Written by Thea Feng, fengyx@mysteel.com
Edited by Russ McCulloch, russ.mcculloch@mysteel.com
Edited by Russ McCulloch, russ.mcculloch@mysteel.com