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For the first half of 2021, China’s sizable industrial firms saw their gross profits surge by 66.9% on year or 45.5% higher than the corresponding period of 2019, according to the latest release by the country’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on July 27, reflecting the strong recovery in demand and their overall performance, and bulk commodities sectors did post higher gains.
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Shortly after the first release of copper, zinc and aluminum reserves through an open auction on July 5-6, China’s National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration (NFSRA) will release the second batch of reserves of these metals via the same means on July 29, the National Development and Reform Commission shared in three posts through its WeChat account on July 21.
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For June, Japan’s crude steel output for all including carbon and special steel for June rose by 44.4% on year to about 8.1 million tonnes, and the whole volume for January-June gained 13.8% on year to about 48.1 million tonnes, with both the on-year rises partially due to the low bases a year ago, Mysteel Global noted from the data released by the Japan Iron & Steel Federation (JISF) on July 21.
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China’s power supply has been under serious test since the start of 2021, firstly in winter because of the extremely cold weather in some regions together with the surging power consumption in many industrial sectors as a result of heavy government spending and fixed asset investments to cushion the domestic economy from the blow of the COVID-19.
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HBIS Group (HBIS), a top-tier steel mill with all the core steelmaking facilities in North China’s Hebei province, is joining with South Korea’s largest steelmaker POSCO in a joint venture to produce and sell automotive steel sheet in Hebei’s Tangshan city, according to the official posts released by the two companies.
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China released all its key economic development data for the first half of 2021 by last week, and related governing organizations also held press conferences to explain the key points of the data on the day of releases where senior officials emphasized the country’s economic growth had been further optimized and is heading towards the desired track via the heavy reliance on the country’s huge domestic market.
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Privately-owned enterprises have been with greater significance in China’s foreign trade, as among the 479,000 firms involved in foreign trade in the first half of 2021, 397,000 or 82.8% of the total were privately-owned, Li Kuiwen, spokesperson of the country’s General Administration of Customs (GACC), shared at GACC’s press conference on July 13.
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China’s fixed asset investment (FAI) increased 12.6% on year in the first half of 2021 to Yuan 25.6 trillion ($3.96 trillion), and among the total, the funding in the property market grew 15% on year to Yuan 7.2 trillion, according to the release by the country’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on July 15.
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China's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 12.7% on year over January-June, approximating Yuan 53.2 trillion ($8.23 trillion), and for the second quarter of 2021, the GDP grew 7.9% on year, confirming that China’s national economy had been recovering steadily with all the key macro-economic indicators having returned to the reasonable levels, the country's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) commented on July 15 when releasing the data.
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Over January-June, China's fixed asset investment (FAI) grew 12.6% on year to Yuan 25.6 trillion, among which that in the property market grew 15% on year to Yuan 7.2 trillion, according to the release by the country's National Bureau of Statistics on July 15. A detailed report will be posted
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China's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 12.7% on year for the first half of 2021, approximating Yuan 53.2 trillion ($8.23 trillion), and for the second quarter of 2021, the GDP grew 7.9% on year, according to release by the country's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on July 15. A detailed
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For the first half of 2021, China’s foreign trade value increased 27.1% on year to Yuan 18.07 trillion ($2.79 trillion), among which exports surged 28.1% on year to Yuan 9.85 trillion and imports up 25.9% on year, according to the data released by the country’s General Administration of Customs (GACC) on July 13, with the first two easing but just marginally from the growths over January-May.
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China’s steel prices will be more reflecting its fundamentals in the second half of 2021, with possible moderate fluctuations in the third quarter and then softening in the fourth quarter in the context that steel demand will slow down in the growth and production costs will ease on higher supplies in raw materials, Mysteel’s research centre shared its outlook for the remainder of 2021.
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Over January-June, China’s Producer Price Index (PPI) grew 5.1% on year and Consumer Price Index (CPI) up 0.5%, and for June alone the former surged 8.8% on year and the latter up 1.1% on year, suggesting a steady recovery in the national economy, and the efforts in stabilizing bulk commodity prices had shown initial results, the country’s National Bureau of Statistics shared on July 9.
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Auto sales and production in China in June declined on year for the second successive month, falling by 12.4% and 16.5% respectively, the latest data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) published on July 9 showed.
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The likelihood that the Tokyo Olympic Games will be held as planned later this month, rather than cancelled despite rising coronavirus cases, is forcing Japanese steel industry insiders doing business in and around the capital to brace for delays to deliveries and other disruptions. The Tokyo Olympics are scheduled for July 23-August 8 and the Paralympic Games during August 24-September 5, Mysteel Global notes.
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Japanese exports of ferrous scrap during January-May declined by 13.7% on year to 3.45 million tonnes, according to the latest data from Trade Statistics of Japan. Scrap traders in Tokyo suggested that the high prices Japanese exporters were demanding last month, plus the rise in ocean freight rates, might have cooled the appetites of overseas buyers.
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Japan’s Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI) for its manufacturing industry for June declined by 0.6 basis points on month to 52.4, but the result remained above the threshold of 50 connoting expansion, according to data released on July 1 by index compiler au Jibun Bank Corporation. Though growth has slowed, the improvement in Japan’s manufacturing health has now stayed positive for five consecutive months, it noted.
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Japan’s carbon steel exports achieved its first on-year gain in May in the 13 months, or up 9.5% on year to about 1.79 million tonnes, according to the data released by the Japan Iron & Steel Federation (JISF) on June 30, though the volume was not high, as the Japanese steel producers had been prioritizing domestic demand, a JISF official said.
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In June, China’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for its steel industry scored 45.1, or having reversed down by 1 basis point on month, and domestic steel demand eased, while steel production was still growing, leading to higher supply, the official index compiler - CFLP Steel Logistics Professional Committee (CSLPC), shared its analysis in the release on June 30.
