WEEKLY: Steelmaker coke stocks hit 4.2 mln t, 7-wk high
Source: Mysteel
Jul 09, 2018 11:18
The stocks of coke at 110 steel plants across China monitored by Mysteel rose by another 113,400 tonnes on week to 4.23 million tonnes as of July 5, a 7-week high, according to Mysteel’s survey released on July 6.
Over the June 29-July 5 week, coke stocks at those steel works were able to sustain the mills’ operations for an average of 12.96 days, higher by a mere 0.42 day on week, the survey shows.
The higher coke stocks at mills indicated that steelmakers have been actively producing molten iron ore, as the margins on finished steel are about Yuan 600-800/t ($94.5-120.7/t), an analyst with a North China’s Hebei-based steel mill observed.
However, the seasonal weak demand for finished steel in summer is beginning to squeeze steel margins, which is prompting steelmakers to lower coke procurement prices and reduce the volume of coke they purchase, he added.
As of June 5, the rate of blast furnace capacity utilization at 247 steel plants nationwide edged up 0.33 percentage point on week to a 4-week high at 81.43%, after the end of the environmental equipment inspections, another Mysteel survey on July 6 showed. Also, by July 5 the average price of HRB 400 20mm dia rebar was at Yuan 4,121/t, generally unchanged on month but 7% higher on year. However, the price has been trending downward since mid-June, Mysteel notes.
Succumbing to pressure from steelmakers, some coke suppliers have agreed to lower offer prices for merchant coke, industry insiders said Friday. The offer price of coke with ash at 12.5% and sulfur at 0.7% in Lvliang in North China’s Shanxi province was at Yuan 2,150/t as of July 5 including 16% VAT, having lost Yuan 50/t on July 3, according to Mysteel’s price data.
Written by Sean Xie, xiepy@mysteel.com
Edited by Russ McCulloch, russ.mcculloch@mysteel.com
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