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China’s coal miners generally fulfilled their obligations regarding coal supplies to long-term contract customers over January-June, according to a report by the China National Coal Association (CNCA) published on July 28. During H1, these enterprises delivered 451 million tonnes of all types of coal in total, accounting for 96.9% of their contracted volume of 466 million tonnes and exceeding the central government’s directive that the miners must meet over 90% of LT contract terms.
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Stocks of imported carbon steel flats including hot-rolled and cold-rolled coils and plates at Japan’s key ports of Tokyo and Osaka declined on month for the first time in June after five months of inclines, down 2.3% or 3,000 tonnes on month to 128,000 tonnes, according to new data released on July 28 by Japanese trading house, Hanwa Co, which was mainly due to robust demand from domestic end-users.
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Japan’s electric-arc-furnace (EAF) steel producers have been receiving active inquiries for billet from Chinese buyers and bid prices are trending upwards, according to sources in Tokyo and Osaka on July 28. But actual billet exports are unlikely to increase due to limited availability, they said.
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Osaka Steel, Japan’s largest steel section producer and a subsidiary of Nippon Steel, will add Yen 3,000/tonne ($27/t) onto its section list prices for August domestic sales, or the third consecutive month for its efforts to transfer rising production costs, a company official confirmed on July 28.
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Liu Youbin, spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) reiterated at a press conference on July 26 that producers from the other carbon-emitting industries including steelmaking, cement and other construction materials will join the country’s power houses in nationwide carbon emission quota trading once the conditions are met.
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Toyota Motor, Japan’s largest auto maker, has informed its auto parts suppliers that the company has adjusted its vehicle output plan lower for August and September by 10,000 units/month from its initial plan made a month ago, according to market sources in Tokyo and Nagoya in central Japan. The auto giant citing delays in receiving critical components.
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In June, Japan’s domestic sales of stainless flats including hot-rolled (HR) and cold-rolled (CR) coils and sheets from Japan’s 32 coil centers rose 18.6% on month, according to the data released by the Japan Stainless Coil Centers Association (JSCA) on July 26, which was probably due to the improvement in spot demand, according to market sources.
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China’s total electricity generation capacity from all forms of energy is forecast to increase by 7.7% on year this year to reach 2.37 billion kW, according to a report by China Electricity Council on July 23. Within the total, by year’s end the portion fuelled by non-fossil energy will reach 1.12 billion kW, exceeding coal-fired electricity capacity at 1.1 billion kW, the council predicts.
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For the first half of 2021, crude steel production among 64 countries worldwide under the monthly survey of World Steel Association (WSA) maintained its momentum in growth, up 14.4% on year to slightly above 1 billion tonnes, according to the association’s sharing late last Friday.
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China’s coking coal imports from all origins fell 41.2% on year over January-Jun, to 22.4 million tonnes, according to data from the country’s General Administration of Customs (GACC). The tumble was mainly due to the loss of Australian coal this year, which was partially offset by higher volumes from other regions including Mongolia, Russia and North America, according to the data.
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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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In June, Japan’s steel exports including semi-finished and finished steel in all grades and forms rose by 27% on year to about 3.06 million tonnes, according to the preliminary data released by Japan’s Ministry of Finance on July 21, though the exports for January-June were still 0.9% short of a year ago, Mysteel Global noted.
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Over January-June, China’s production of all the four mainstream white goods still grew on year though at a slower pace of 5.6-33.5% against the 10.2-37.3% on-year growths for the first five months of 2021, as their June output fell on month, Mysteel Global noted from the latest data released by China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on July 19.
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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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Production of rebars across China during the first half of 2021 rose by 11.2% on-year to around 136.3 million tonnes, according to the latest data released by the country’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on July 19. The rate of growth was slower than the 13.5% surge for the first five months of this year.
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Nippon Steel, Japan’s largest integrated mill, has won an order to supply high-alloy seamless pipes for the Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage (CCS) project in the North Sea, the company announced on July 20.
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China’s consumption of all types of energy increased 10.5% on year over January-June, reversing up from the 0.2% on year drop during H1 last year when the coronavirus was raging nationwide. For H1 this year, the percentage of clean energy in all energy consumed edged up by 0.4 percentage point on year, while that for coal declined 0.3 percentage point on year, according to a recent post by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
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Iron ore shipments to China from Port Hedland, Western Australia’s top iron ore terminal, increased for the second month in June to reach around 42 million tonnes, according to data released by the Pilbara Ports Authority (PPA) on July 16. The total was up by another 1.8 million tonnes or 4.6% on month, though it was still 4.2 million tonnes or 9% lower than June 2020.
