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China’s prices of ferromolybdenum (FeMo) and molybdenum concentrates remained unchanged at high levels over July 19-23, according to Mysteel’s survey, though market sources observed that buying interest among Chinese steelmakers for FeMo softened last week.
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Already lashed by heavy rains and flooding since Wednesday which have so far claimed 33 lives, Henan province in central China is bracing for more. The disruptions to manufacturing industries continue, Mysteel’s latest survey has found, with the local metallurgical community including steelmakers, raw materials suppliers and metal makers further halting their operations to avoid risks to safety.
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Chinese steel producers showed less interest in exporting steel last week amid mounting concerns that the central government may impose new export taxes, according to Mysteel’s latest weekly report. In the meantime, they opted to raise export prices by a large degree.
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Chinese prices of ferromolybdenum (FeMo) rose for the second successive week over July 12-16, according to Mysteel’s regular survey. Market watchers noted that the rebound in FeMo prices was mainly due to the smelters’ higher production costs and improved market sentiment, boosted by the increase in prices of moly concentrates.
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China’s national HRB400E 20mm dia rebar price, the indicator of China’s steel market performance, nudged up another Yuan 9/tonne ($1.4/t) on day to Yuan 5,276/t including the 13% VAT as of July 16, refreshing a nearly two-month high even though trading remained rangebound, indicating that market sentiment had been largely steady in the low steel consumption season.
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China’s domestic steel scrap will probably remain strong for the second half of 2021, as the tight supply-demand balance in the market will persist, according to Mysteel’s near-term market outlook.
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China’s steel export volume remained low over the week of July 3-9, mainly due to weak demand in the countries of ASEAN, the largest buyers of Chinese steel, according to Mysteel’s latest weekly report. The low prices in ASEAN were also responsible for China’s steel imports to pick up over the same period.
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Chinese prices of ferromolybdenum (FeMo) reversed up over July 5-9, Mysteel’s regular survey has found, ending the steady decline since mid-June. Market sources noted that Chinese mills became more active in replenishing inventories of FeMo last week. Amid the tight supplies of the ferroalloy, most mills were obliged to raise their bidding prices to acquire what they need, and this fuelled the FeMo price rebound.
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Domestic coking coal prices in China have been steadily trending upward since mid-June, with Mysteel’s national composite coking coal price gaining Yuan 338.8/tonne ($52.3/t) on month to reach Yuan 1,714.7/t and including the 13% VAT as of July 7 – a new high since Mysteel launched this assessment in April 2018.
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Domestic prices of ultra-high-power (UHP) graphite electrodes across China edged down over the past month as the market turned quiet from the drop in demand from steel mills, Mysteel Global learned Thursday.
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After rising for the three prior months, steel scrap utilization in the crude steel produced by the 211 Chinese steel mills sampled in Mysteel’s regular survey shrank in June, reversing down by an albeit in tiny 0.29 percentage point from May to 26.84% on average. The survey samples integrated and electric-arc-furnace (EAF) producers, as well as those mills using both blast furnace (BF) and EAF technologies.
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Chinese steel export prices and trade both remain weak last week, with the price of China-origin hot rolled coil falling for the seventh week in a row. Market sources blamed the outflow of low-priced Russian steel products for the downward pressure on prices.
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Prices of both ferromolybdenum (FeMo) and moly concentrates in China assessed by Mysteel continued tracking south over June 28-July 2. Industry watchers remarked that the overall market sentiment weakened last week, with Chinese steel mills’ demand being average.
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The profit margins that China’s independent electric-arc-furnace (EAF) steelmakers are earning on their steel continue to be dragged down by rises in production costs and the continuous decrease in finished steel prices.
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Stocks of steel scrap including processed and unprocessed at China’s 293 licensed scrapyards have recovered 4.4% on month as of June 30, according to Mysteel’s latest survey, which was mainly due to the weakening in demand from the steel mills both for blast furnace (BF) and electric-arc-furnace (EAF) mills on their thinning finished steel margins while the betting on higher scrap prices among the scrap suppliers, market sources shared.
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Chinese steel export prices declined for the sixth week last week though at a faster pace than previously, due to weakening domestic market conditions and poor demand from the ASEAN region, the primary destination for Chinese steel exports, market sources indicated.
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After the series of rises since early June, the domestic price of ferromolybdenum (FeMo) in China headed south over June 21-25, according to Mysteel’s price tracking. The retreating FeMo prices mainly reflected the decline in bidding prices tabled by Chinese mills, market sources commented.
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Chinese steel export prices continued to move down for the fifth week last week and export trade remained inactive as buyers held back on concerns about possible steel export tax adjustments, Mysteel’s latest weekly report shows.
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The domestic price of 60% ferromolybdenum (FeMo) in Northeast China, a key production hub of the noble alloy, had strengthened by Yuan 15,000/tonne ($2,319/t) on week as of June 18, and hit a 11-year high of Yuan 162,000/t on June 17, according to Mysteel’s survey. Market sources mainly attributed the price hikes to the Chinese smelters passing along higher production costs.
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Chinese domestic prices for ultra-high-power (UHP) grade graphite electrodes and small-sized electrodes showed signs of stabilizing over the past week, as purchases from electric-arc-furnace (EAF) producers have slowed, according to Mysteel’s latest survey.
