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The auto production among China’s 15 major automakers declined 27.4% on year to 523,000 units over January 1-10, according to the latest data from China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) on January 14, which was mainly due to the growing shortage of auto semiconductors and the manufacturers’ relaxation on output at the start of the year, according to market sources.
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Stocks of the five major finished steel products held by the 184 Chinese steel mills monitored regularly by Mysteel mounted for the third consecutive week over January 7-13, as domestic steelmakers continued to produce normally while steel consumption among end-users shrank further.
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Stocks of the five major finished steel products held by the 184 Chinese steel mills monitored regularly by Mysteel continued to move up for the second week over December 31-January 6 as consumption among end-users remained depressed – weakened by the sudden winter freeze – while the domestic mills still maintained high output during the period.
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A rise in the number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus recorded in North China’s Hebei province over the past few days is making steel producers, traders and raw materials suppliers in the province anxious, especially when the local authorities have quickly imposed restrictions on trucking in parts of the province – disrupting the transportation of both steel and raw materials – but the tangible impact on mill operations has been limited so far, market sources confirmed on Thursday.
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India’s finished steel exports have surged by 28%. India’s finished steel imports declined significantly by 42%. Indian crude steel output stood declined by 13%. Finished steel consumption stood at 63.46 mn t
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Shagang Group, China’s largest rebar producer headquartered in East China’s Jiangsu province, has hiked its domestic rebar list prices for January 1-10 by a further Yuan 150/tonne ($23/t) from its previous ten-day pricing period.
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After over two years of steel scrap imports restrictions, the Chinese government, as widely expected, has reopened the door to overseas steel scrap starting January 1 together with the new adoption of the “recycled iron-steel raw materials” standards, according to an announcement from the country’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) on the last working day of 2020.
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Stocks of the five major finished steel products held by the 184 Chinese steel mills monitored by Mysteel reversed up over December 24-30 after sliding for three weeks, as demand from end users slowed down with the arrival of the severe cold front across much of the country.
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Chinese export prices for both long and flat steel items surged at an even faster rate last week compared with previous weeks, reflecting the fact that domestic steel prices had hit multi-year highs earlier in the week. But Mysteel’s latest weekly survey shows that bid prices lodged by global buyers have been slow to catch up.
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The stocks of processed and unprocessed steel scrap held by China’s 291 licensed steel scrapyards had reversed up by 3.5% on month as of December 25, according to Mysteel’s latest survey. Chiefly responsible for the recovery were an increase in processing activity and the scrapyards’ determination to hold off selling in response to strengthening scrap prices.
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Sudden drops in temperature have hit most regions of China but the cold’s impact on steel demand has varied by region, market sources say of the chill. Raw materials transportation has been disrupted too though the effect so far has been limited, they said.
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Stocks of the five major finished steel products held by the 184 Chinese steel mills monitored by Mysteel emptied at a fast pace over December 17-23, shrinking by 5.7% on week to 4.8 million tonnes, the lowest since mid-January, while the output of mills dipped further during the same week, according to Mysteel’s latest weekly survey.
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China’s Metallurgical Information and Standardization Institute (CMISI) that has participated in the formulation of the country’s new steel scrap standards, shared some explanation notes on some terms in the documentation on December 21, though the full and final copy of the guidelines is nowhere to be found yet.
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Like those globally, Chinese steel export prices have been on a steep upward track recently, but buyers are gradually finding the high offers increasingly unacceptable and are not placing new orders. Some steel traders in the international market reckon that prices are losing momentum for further growth as demand is expected to slow with the coming Christmas holiday.
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The most-traded rebar contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) for delivery next May reversed up by Yuan 208/tonne ($31.8/t) or 5% from the settlement price on December 11 to end the daytime trading session at Yuan 4,316/t as of December 18. Market watchers said the price rebound reflected the optimistic outlook for demand next year held by most domestic market participants.
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China’s steel exports are expected to increase significantly during next quarter, with monthly volumes over January-March seen in the 5-5.5 million tonnes range, far higher than the average is 4.2 million t/m for October and November, according to a new Mysteel study published on December 17. Next quarter too, over 60% of exports will be of flat steel, due to strong overseas demand from manufacturers against a shortage of supply of flat products in international markets.
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Stocks of the five major finished steel products held by the 184 Chinese steel mills monitored by Mysteel continued decreasing for the second week over December 10-16. Respondents to the latest survey attributed the dip mainly to lower output and the steady consumption of steel users.
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A brief statement headed ‘Recycling iron-steel materials’ published on the website of China’s National Public Service Platform for Standards Information confirms that the much-awaited introduction of new classification standards for the country’s steel scrap sector will take place on January 1, 2021. News of the December 14 statement only filtered down to Chinese scrap dealers and steelmakers on Thursday after China’s Xinhua News Agency carried a short report.
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The fast recovery in global steel demand, despite the havoc COVID-19 continues to cause major economies, saw Chinese steel export prices continue to trend upward last week, even increasing at a quicker pace.
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Stocks of the five major finished steel products held by the 184 Chinese steel mills monitored by Mysteel began thinning once again during December 3-9 after climbing for the prior two weeks, according to Mysteel’s latest weekly survey. The lower output of Chinese mills and the recovery in demand were behind the decline, sources said.
