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The 186 Chinese mining companies Mysteel surveys fortnightly continued to see their daily iron ore concentrates output increase over May 6-19, new data show, while their stocks of concentrates fell at the same time. The results reflected the production resumption at some miners and stronger buying for ore among steelmakers in North and East China where previous COVID-19 lockdowns were relaxed gradually, market sources said.
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Inventories of imported iron ore at China's 45 major ports under Mysteel's survey continued to decline to a seven-month low of 135.6 million tonnes over May 13-19, thinning for the eighth week by another 4.4 million tonnes or 3.1% on week, with the daily discharge rate hitting Mysteel's record high while new ore arrivals decreased.
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Over May 13-19, the blast furnace capacity utilization rate among China's 247 steel mills under Mysteel's regular survey had climbed for the fourth week, up by another 0.38 percentage point on week to 88.66%, as more blast furnaces in North China had resumed their operations, Mysteel Global noted.
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Daily consumption of imported iron ore sintering fines at China's 64 blast-furnace steel mills under Mysteel's survey remained generally stable over May 12-18, having nudged down by 4,400 tonnes/day or 0.8% on week to 552,900 t/d. Meanwhile, stocks of these fines at the same mills grew further.
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Over May 9-15, iron ore shipments dispatched to global destinations from the 19 ports and 16 mining companies in Australia and Brazil under Mysteel's survey decreased for the second week to 23.7 million tonnes, dropping by 966,000 tonnes or 4% on week.
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Iron ore demand among China's steelmakers remained relatively firm over the May 9-12 week given their stable steel production. Nevertheless, iron ore prices still eased throughout the week as market pessimism regarding near-term demand for finished steel and steelmaking inputs exacerbated, especially during the first half of the week.
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Offering prices of domestically-produced iron ore concentrates in most areas of China under Mysteel's tracking trended south over May 9-13. The decline was mainly due to the lower bidding prices tabled by steelmakers amid their dull demand and the bearish sentiment prevailing in the iron ore market, market sources said.
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Chinese steel prices of both rebar and hot-rolled coil (HRC) trended downwards in both spot and futures markets over May 9-13, partly due to the softening in steelmaking raw material prices and the cautious near-term market sentiment, Mysteel Global noted.
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Over May 9-13, China's steelmaking raw materials prices including iron ore and coke declined, mainly as steel demand from end-users had softened further amid the bearish market sentiment and meagre profit margins had also forced steel mills to lower their raw material procurement prices, Mysteel Global noted.
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Over May 6-12, inventories of imported iron ore at China's 45 major ports under Mysteel's survey decreased further to about 140 million tonnes, down for the seventh straight week by another 3.3 million tonnes or 2.3% on week to hover at its six-month low, mainly as higher daily discharge volumes had outpaced the growth in new arrivals at these ports.
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Over May 6-12, the blast furnace capacity utilization rate among China's 247 steel mills increased for a third week, nudging up by another 0.53 percentage point on week to 88.28%, as some steelmakers in North and East China saw higher engagement of their furnaces after the maintenance, according to Mysteel's latest weekly survey.
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Inventories of imported iron ore sintering fines stockpiled at the 64 Chinese steel mills monitored by Mysteel increased to 15.8 million tonnes over May 5-11, having recovered by 505,500 tonnes or 3.3% on week after the decline during the prior week, according to Mysteel's survey. Meanwhile, daily use of these fines at the same mills remained generally stable.
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Over May 2-8, iron ore shipments dispatched to global destinations from the 19 ports and 16 mining companies in Australia and Brazil under Mysteel's survey decreased to 24.6 million tonnes, down by 1.3 million tonnes or 4.9% on week after rising over the prior week, as the decline in Brazilian shipments had outpaced the growth in Australian volumes.
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Bearish sentiment led Chinese prices of imported iron ore in both the spot and futures markets to drop over May 5-6 after the Labour Day holiday, with ore buying among many steelmakers also being tepid.
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Offering prices of domestic iron ore concentrates in China's major mining regions showed mixed trends over April 29-May 6, according to Mysteel's survey. Moderately improved demand from steelmakers in North China led the conc prices to rise, while miners in East China clipped their prices on weak buying and falling imported ore prices.
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China's domestic steel prices including both rebar and hot-rolled coil (HRC) moved up on May 5, the first working day after the Labour Day holiday, before making downward corrections in the following couple of days. Last week, the market sentiment was generally optimistic on the anticipation of better steel demand with the easing of COVID-related controls, Mysteel Global noted.
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Iron ore concentrate stocks held by the 186 Chinese mining companies under Mysteel's regular survey thinned to 2.8 million tonnes over April 22-May 5, falling by 130,600 tonnes or 4.5% on fortnight to reach their lowest level since last December. Chiefly responsible for the decline was the increase in buying among steelmakers and the easing of road transport controls introduced as part of COVID-19 lockdowns, market sources said.
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Chinese steel export prices were largely stable both during and after the Labour Day holiday of April 30-May 4, market sources said, pointing out that export sales were rather quiet.
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Daily consumption of imported iron ore sintering fines among the 64 Chinese steel mills canvassed regularly by Mysteel increased to 558,000 tonnes/day over April 28-May 4, having edged up by 4,500 t/d on week after the prior week's decline, Mysteel's latest survey has found. These steelmakers' iron ore stocks also reversed down from a four-week rise, the data also show.
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Over April 29-May 5, the blast furnace capacity utilization rate among China's 247 steel mills under Mysteel's regular survey inched up for the second week, rising by another 1.18 percentage points on week to 87.75%, as some steel producers in North and East China had resumed their operations after the relaxation of logistics controls and the end of regular maintenance stoppages.
