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Japan’s total steel exports during calendar 2020 fell 4.8% on year to 31.26 million tonnes, according to preliminary data released by Japan’s Ministry of Finance on January 21. Last year’s result marked the fourth year in a row that annual export volume had fallen below 40 million tonnes, with the reduction mainly attributed to the negative impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on steel consumption worldwide.
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Chinese steel mills would not have foreseen a rather robust December in 2020 though steel prices had climbed out of the deep hole since last April and stayed on an uptrend with the resumption of the economic and industrial activities afterwards for the rest of the year.
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China’s gross domestic product grew 2.3% on year for the whole of 2020, exceeding Yuan 100 trillion ($15.4 trillion) for the first time ever and approximating Yuan 101.6 trillion， and all the key sectors also performed better than excepted, Mysteel Global noted from the latest release by the country’s National Bureau of Statistics.
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China’s fixed asset investment (FAI) continued to grow in the last month of 2020, and the whole year’s total FAI grew 2.9% on year, up 0.3 percentage point from the gain in the first eleven months, among which the funding in the property market grew more substantially by 7% on year for 2020, or 0.2 percentage point more than the rise for the first eleven months, according to latest release by the country’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
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China's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 2.3% on year for the whole 2020, with the growth for the fourth quarter scoring 6.5% on year, or higher than the 4.9% on year for the third quarter, and the performance of the major sectors had been better than expected, according to the
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China’s fixed asset investment grew 2.9% on year during full year 2020, or 0.3 percentage point higher than that for the first eleven months, among which, the funding in the property grew 7% on year or 0.2 percentage point higher than the gain over January-November, according to the latest release
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China’s foreign trade value hit a record of Yuan 32.16 trillion ($4.97 trillion) for the whole 2020, higher by 1.9% year, while the country’s contribution to global trade reached 12.8% over January-October, according to the official data from the World Trade Organization, also a record high, shared Li Kunwen, the spokesperson of China’s General Administration of Customs on January 14.
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Japan’s core machinery orders from domestic users excluding shipbuilders and power equipment makers improved for the second consecutive month in November, rising by 1.5% on month in value to Yen 854.8 billion ($8.2 billion), according to a release by the Japanese government’s Cabinet Office on January 14.
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The Japanese auto manufacturers are facing the shortage of semiconductors, which may force them to slow down the pace of production again in the coming months at their plants both inside Japan and abroad after the recovery from the COVId-19 impact since August 2020, and steel consumption in the sector may decline too, market sources shared.
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The
Japanese government has imposed the second round of state of emergency over
January 8-February 7 not only to the whole country but to Tokyo and three
adjacent prefectures to slow down the spread of the COVID-19, and the sectors
constrained in the latest round are not as many as in the first round
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Japan’s auto sales for the calendar year of 2020 fell below the benchmark of 5 million units for the first time in four years, or down 11.5% on year to about 4.6 million units, according to the data compiled by the Japan Auto Mobile Dealers Association and mini-vehicle dealers’ group - Zenkoku Keijidosha Kyokai Rengokai.
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Japan’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for its manufacturing industry for December 2020 reached a new high since April 2019 after having recovered by 1 basis points on month to 50, a neutral zone as the PMI above this indicates expansion, and the domestic manufacturing sector continued with its gradual recovery, according to the release from au Jibun Bank Corporation on January 4.
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No one would have expected the steelmaking raw materials prices including iron ore, coke and scrap to have attempted multi-year highs in December, a usual off season for steel consumption and production, but the year 2020 had been proven anything but normal, and many iron ore traders ended their 2020 in frustration, as iron ore prices shot up for seemingly no reason at all.
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Tokyo and three neighbouring prefectures jointly lobbied the central government to declare another state of emergency on January 2, though no decision has been made, the Japanese steel market has been stirred with the renewed concern on steel demand.
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China’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the domestic manufacturing industry reversed down by 0.2 basis point from the year’s high in November to 51.9 in December, but it stayed in the expansion zone for the tenth straight month or the second high for 2020, indicating that China’s manufacturing industry have been recovering steadily, according to the latest release from the country’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on December 31.
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China’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the domestic manufacturing industry eased by 0.2 basis point on month to 51.9 for December, but having been above the benchmark of 50 for the tenth month, indicating the steady recovery in the country's manufacturing sector, according to the latest release from China's National
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China’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the steel industry reversed down by 3.4 basis points on month to 45.8 for December, with both demand and supply having shown signs of cautiousness in the last month of 2020, according to the latest release from the CFLP Steel Logistics Professional Committee. A
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In the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), China will endeavor to build up a stronger and more resilient economy by stabilizing and upgrading its manufacturing, enhancing the self-reliance in the value chain of various industrial sectors, growing the enterprises with competitiveness, and building the new information technology infrastructure and environment, according to a post by the country’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) on December 29.
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China’s economic recovery will continue to face challenges in 2021, as GDP growth will be rather high in the first quarter before subsequently easing over the year’s remaining three quarters, according to Chen Changsheng, director of Macroeconomic Research Department at China’s Development Research Center of the State Council. Moreover, the country’s high GDP growth in the near term will not be as hot as the numbers suggest because the base in 2019 was rather low, Chen noted in his presentation on December 19 at Mysteel Annual Summit.
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2021, the first year of the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), will mark the start of demand-side reform in China’s economy and global market, and China’s steel industry will also be driven by demand, with its growth outpacing that in supply to reach its peak in the next five years, Wang Jianhua, Mysteel’s chief analyst shared at the Mysteel Annual Summit in Shanghai on December 20.
