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Prices ofimported
coal prices were mixed over March 18-22 2019. Purchase inquiries and
transactions were few and far between.
Coking coal imports
Quotations
of imported coking coal to China
PCIcoal imports:
Quotations
of importedPCIcoal to China
Unit: $/tonne, VAT excluded
Thermal coal imports:
Imported coking coal port stocks on March 22
(Unit: in ’000 tonnes)
Note: Jingtang port
stocks have been included in Shougang
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The total of coke stocks being held by the 230 independent coke plants across China which Mysteel monitors weekly surged by another 176,300 tonnes or 14% on week to reach 1.44 million tonnes as of March 21, Mysteel’s latest survey published on March 22 showed. Market sources attributed the rise in inventories to the slow-down in buying of merchant coke by both steel mills and coke traders.
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The capacity utilization of the blast furnaces at 247 Chinese steel plants nationwide under Mysteel’s weekly survey rebounded over March 15-21, up 0.92 percentage point on week to 77.5% with some blast furnaces back on line after the maintenance, according to Mysteel’s latest survey released on March 22.
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Imported iron ore inventories at the 45 major Chinese ports inclined for the sixth successive week over March 15-21, though the week-on-week incline was only 185,600 tonnes and the total volume, therefore, remained largely unchanged at 147.9 million tonnes as of March 21, according to Mysteel’s latest weekly survey released on March 22.
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Steel producers in most parts of China showed little interest in procuring much iron ore over March 11-15, though some mills in Tangshan, North China’s Hebei province, bought some tonnage when they had a break over the period from the emergency curbs on their iron and steelmaking facilities one round after another, Mysteel’s weekly survey showed.
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The Brazilian iron ore weekly shipment to worldwide over March 11-17 hit its 13-month low of 4.6 million tonnes, down another 430,000 tonnes or 8.6% on week as Vale’s shipment slid to its nearly three-year low of 3.5 million tonnes, according to Mysteel’s latest survey published on March 19.
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Mysteel’s steel scrap price index softened by Yuan 8.7/t ($1.3/t) on week to Yuan 2,533.5/t on delivery to steel plants and including the 16% VAT as of March 15.
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Trends in domestic prices of iron ore concentrates in China diverged among the country’s major ore-producing regions over the March 11-15 week, according to Mysteel’s latest weekly survey published March 15. The declines were mainly attributed to reduced demand from steel mills while the rises were said to reflect the influence of the recovery of imported iron ore prices.
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Prices ofimported
coal prices were mixed over March 11-15 2019. Purchase inquiries and
transactions were few and far between.
Coking coal imports
Quotations
of imported coking coal to China
PCIcoal imports:
Quotations
of importedPCIcoal to China
Unit: $/tonne, VAT excluded
Thermal coal imports:
Imported coking coal port stocks on March 15
(Unit: in ’000 tonnes)
Note: Jingtang port
stocks have been included in Shougang
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Stocks of five major finished steel at both the Chinese traders and steel mills declined further during the week of March 7-13, and buying enthusiasm from both the traders and downstream consumers showed signs of improvement, market sources noted.
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Daily production of iron ore concentrates among the 186 Chinese mining companies tracked in Mysteel’s regular survey gained slightly over the March 1-14 period, rising by 3,000 tonnes/day or 0.6% on fortnight to reach 486,400 t/d. This minimal increase was mainly attributed to miners in East and Northwest China finally resuming production after the Chinese New Year break in early February.
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Stockpiles of coke at the 230 independent coke producers Mysteel monitors surged by 16% or 175,900 tonnes on week to reach a four-week high of 1.27 million tonnes as of March 14, despite their coke output only rising by 0.3% or just 2,100 tonnes/day on week, according to Mysteel’s survey published Friday. Survey respondents blamed the Chinese steel mills’ weakened appetite for coke for pushing the inventories higher.
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The blast furnace capacity utilization at 247 Chinese steel plants nationwide under Mysteel’s weekly survey went down for the third week over March 8-14, having declined another 0.38 percentage point on week to 76.58%, or a new low since January 25, according to Mysteel’s latest release on March 15.
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Inventories of imported iron ore at 45 major Chinese ports climbed for the fifth week over March 8-14 though the incline was only 243,500 tonnes or 0.2% on week to 147.7 million tonnes as of March 14, while the daily average port discharge rate dipped to its one-year low of about 2.5 million tonnes/day, according to Mysteel’s latest weekly survey released on March 15.
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Inventories of imported iron ore sintering fines stockpiled at the 64 Chinese steel mills included in Mysteel’s regular survey receded further over February 28-March 13 to reach a three-month low. Significantly, the steelmakers’ daily consumption of the fines also dipped again during the period, according to Mysteel’s latest survey released on March 14.
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China’s domestic iron ore concentrate offer prices showed signs of stabilizing over March 4-8 from the declines earlier on, according to Mysteel’s latest weekly survey, as many domestic steel mills showed limited interest in procuring in large quantities when major steel production bases are under the restrictions due to poor air quality.
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Iron ore shipments from Australia and Brazil to worldwide reversed down remarkably over March 4-10 by 4.2 million tonnes or 17.4% on week to about 20 million tonnes with the tonnage from Australia contributing to the largest decline with all three miners’ shipment volume having slipped down over the week, according to Mysteel’s latest survey released on March 12.
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China’s steel scrap market stayed weak last week, with the pace of the slide in Mysteel’s national steel scrap price index picking up speed, propelling the price to Yuan 2,542.2/tonne ($378/t) on delivery and including the 16% VAT as of March 8, lower by Yuan 13.6/t on week – equivalent to nearly 5%. Sources blamed the sluggish steel market generally and the low profit margins which mills continue to struggle with for the latest round of price declines, Mysteel notes.
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Chinese trading of imported iron ore cooled down over the past week, in marked contrast to the frenzy of business over the previous week in response to the emergency production curbs on steelmakers across much of northern China. The ebbing of activity further undermined imported iron ore prices.
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Supply constraint in Shanxi, China’s core coal production base, has been lending support to the country’s coking coal price with Mysteel’s national coking coal price index touching its two-month high of Yuan 1,243.3/t ($185/t) including the 16% VAT as of March 8 after another rise of Yuan 3.8/t or 0.3% on week.
