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Tensions between China and India amid a military standoff at the disputed northern borders could potentially hurt commodities trade and encourage diversion to illegal channels, Biman Mukherji and Ritwik Sinha report.
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Taiwan's finished steel production could decline by 6.5% on year in 2020 to 23.2 million tonnes, mainly due to affection of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Sino-US trade friction on its local steel demand, and the persistent competition from the lower-priced imports, Ting-Han Lai, secretary of International Affairs Committee of Taiwan Steel & Iron Industry Association, shared at the 2020 SEAISI e-Conference on July 1.
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Japan’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for its manufacturing industry recovered by 1.7 basis point on month to 40.1 for June, indicating that the operations and market sentiment had been improving after a few months of declines since February, according to the release from au Jibun Bank Corporation on July 1.
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China's steel PMI for June eased to 49.3, or down 1.6 basis points from May, according to the release by CFLP Steel Logistics Professional Committee on June 30. A detailed report will be posted soon.
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Despite the notable rise seen in the January-March quarter, the FOB price of Australian premium hard coking coal (HCC) is forecast to decline from an average of $179/tonne in 2019 to $126/t this year, impacted by weakened global demand, Australia’s Department of Industry, Innovation and Science estimated in its quarterly report published on June 29.
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Shortly after the China Iron & Steel Association (CISA) called for more fixed-priced deals in the physical iron ore market, Hebei Iron and Steel Group (HBIS) has opened its “HBIS International Iron Ore Supermarket” for business on the e-trading platform run by the Beijing Iron Ore Trading Center Corporation (COREX).
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Unlike the previous years, Japan’s electric-arc-furnace (EAF) mills will not stock up much finished steel for sales in July-August, even though their plants will be shut down for about one or two weeks to reduce power usage as usual during the country’s peak power consumption in summer, as demand in 2020 has been too stagnant, mini-mill sources confirmed on June 19.
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Japan’s crude steel output for the fiscal 2020 (April 2020-March 2021) may decline to around 80 million tonne from the 98.43 million tonnes for FY19, predicted Eiji Hashimoto, the newly-appointed chairman of the Japan Iron & Steel Federation (JISF) on June 16 after the first press conference as chairman.
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The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), the country’s governing body of all futures exchanges, has granted its approval, allowing three commodity exchanges to launch options contracts for six industrial products over June-August for trading, according to its official post on June 12.
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The declines in China’s total fixed asset investment (FAI) and the funding in the property market slowed further by May, with the former down 6.3% on year over January-May as against the 10.3% on-year fall in the first four months, and the latter dipping 0.3% as against the 3.3% fall by April, according to the latest data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on June 15.
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Over January-May,China’s fixed asset investment (FAI)dipped 6.3%on year, and that in the domestic property marketnudged down 0.3%on year, according to the latest statistics from the country's National Bureau of Statistics. A detailed report will be posted soon.
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China's crude steel output grew 1.9% on year to about 411.8 million tonnes over January-May, according to the latest release from the country's National Bureau of Statistics.A detailed report will be posted soon.
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After the robust performance in April and May, China’s domestic steel demand may step onto a down slope starting June, and 2020 may end with a 4% on-year decline in total steel consumption, while the supply glut will be even more outstanding against the retreat in consumption in H2, Xu Xiangchun, Mysteel’s senior steel analyst, warned the market at the 3rd Bohai Economic Rim Steel Conference 2020 on June 3, the first large-scale virtual conference that Mysteel held with over 1,000 dial-ins and over 50,000 views.
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For January-May, China’s foreign trade value declined more deeply by 8% on year than the 7.5% on-year fall for the first four months, as the foreign trade for May alone reversed down on month by 1.2% or down more sharply by 9.3% on year, according to the latest statistics in terms of the U.S. dollar from the country’s General Administration of Customs on June 7.
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China's foreign trader value declined 8% on year to $1.65 trillion over January-May, according to the latest statistics from the country's General Administration of Customs on June 7. A detailed story will be posted soon.
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As part of the efforts to rescue the national economy from the negative impact of the COVID-19, China’s local authorities issued a total of Yuan 1.3 trillion ($182.6 billion) government bonds in May, or a record high month, to ensure adequate funding in infrastructure construction, according to a post by China’s Ministry of Finance (MoF) on June 3.
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The world’s total steel demand this year is estimated to contract by 6.4% on year to 1.65 billion tonnes, mainly hit by the global crisis of COVID-19, according to the latest Short Range Outlook (SRO) from the World Steel Association (WSA or worldsteel) released at 1800 (Beijing time) on June 4.
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All of a sudden on June 3, WeChat and various Chinese news media became flooded with reports about the possible explosive reincarnation of street/night/flea markets across China – informal commercial venues that Beijing has been regulating for the past few years – and some companies seen as benefiting, such as manufacturers of vans capable of converting into mobile stalls, saw their stock prices spike the same day.
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Nippon Steel, Japan’s largest integrated mill, has delayed the banking of No.2 furnace at its Kimitsu works near Tokyo by about a month until mid-June, as it has not been able to fulfill the signed contracts by mid-May, the company’s spokeswoman explained on June 4.
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Japan’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the country’s manufacturing industry fell to 38.4 for May, a new low since March 2009 or having declined for the three month mainly due to the impact of the COVID-19 on the series of industrial activities, according to the release from au Jibun Bank Corporation on June 1.
