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As of February 26, less than half of China’s independent electric-arc-furnace (EAF) producers sampled in a new survey by Mysteel had resumed operations after the Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday over February 11-17. Though steel demand from users has revived and margins have improved, that the percentage is not higher is being blamed in part on the mills’ continuing struggle to source sufficient scrap.
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Japan’s eight major automakers posted a 4.5% on-year drop in January output at both the domestic and overseas plants to about 2.11 million units, according to the data released by automakers until February 26, and the decline was not about auto demand but the worldwide shortage of semi-conductors, according to market sources.
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China’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the manufacturing industry slid for the third month in February, easing by 0.7 basis point on month to 50.6, with the country’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) attributing the on-month decline mainly to the Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday over February 11-17. Despite the dip, the national PMI has nonetheless remained in the expansion zone for the twelfth month, according to Bureau’s latest release on February 28.
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Japan’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for its manufacturing industry for February gained 1.6 basis points on month to reach 51.4, returning to expansion for the first time since December and indicating that Japanese manufacturers are gradually emerging from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to index compiler au Jibun Bank Corporation on March 1, the February result showed the strongest improvement since December 2018. A reading over the threshold of 50 connotes expansion, Mysteel Global notes.
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SteelMint’s
weekly low-grade Indian iron ore fines (Fe 57%) export index is
currently assessed at $98/t FoB east coast India, up by $6 w-o-w.
Confirmed export trades of around 150,000 t Indian low-grade fines (Fe
57%) were recorded by SteelMint. The deals were concluded by eastern
India based players in
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Japan’s carbon steel exports declined again in January, falling by 13% on year and by 0.9% on month to 1.65 million tonnes, according to the latest data released by the Japan Iron & Steel Federation on February 26. Though this marked the ninth consecutive monthly tumble, a JISF official was optimistic that this month’s result would show some improvement as steelmakers had more capacity available.
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Crude steel production among 64 countries worldwide under the monthly survey by World Steel Association (WSA) totaled 162.9 million tonnes in January, up 4.8% on year or 2 million tonnes or 1.2% more on month, according to the latest statistics released by the association on February 25, showcasing that global steel demand has been picking up steadily on support of recovering downstream sectors such as automobiles.
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Growth in China’s industrial machinery sector in 2021 is expected to ease slightly to around 5.5%, as against the 6% on-year rise seen in 2020, but the outlook for the sector remains positive, according to a February 24 release from China’s Machinery Industry Federation (CMIF).
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Most of China’s top ten steelmaking provinces posted on-year increases in their crude steel production for 2020, and Hebei province in North China safeguarded its top ranking though its contribution to the country’s total declined by 0.5 percentage points, Mysteel Global noted from the latest data from the country’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
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China’s national composite coke price has ebbed from its over 12-year high of Yuan 2,712.3/tonne ($419.9/t) over February 18-22, according to Mysteel’s assessment, as the Chinese steel mills have shown strong resistance against the coke price hikes since mid-August 2020 and their steel margins have been seriously squeezed as a result.
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Domestic sales of passenger cars in China this month are expected to reach 1.2 million units, some 44.9% lower on month, according to the latest release from the China Passenger Car Association on February 22. The CPCA said the Chinese New Year holiday over February 11-17 had interrupted sales, leading to the decline in sales.
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Mongolia’s coal exports to all destinations in January increased by a significant 57.2% on month or by 3% on year to nearly 2.5 million tonnes, due to the faster pace of coal deliveries across the Mongolia-China border last month, according to the country’s Customs office. About 92.6% of Mongolian coal for export was exported to China in January, Mongolian Customs data showed.
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Home is where parents are in the Chinese culture. But for this year’s Chinese New Year celebrations, many Chinese working in cities or in other countries away from their places of birth will probably have to bear the separation from their parents for CNY for the first time this year, and all for a common reason – the COVID-19 virus. For the unluckier ones, this might even be the second time they’ll miss their annual family get-together.
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China’s sales and output of automobiles jumped by 29.5% and 34.6% respectively on year last month, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) released the latest numbers on February 9, attributing the robust performance to the remaining solid demand for vehicles and at the same time low base numbers for January 2020.
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China’s excavators sales by the 26 makers for both domestic and overseas markets totalled 19,601 units for January, or up 97.2% on year, according to the latest statistics from the China Construction Machinery Association (CCMA), with the surge mainly due to the low base numbers for January 2020 when China was hit by the COVID-19 and the remaining robust demand from the domestic construction projects, market sources commented.
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Nippon Steel, Japan’s largest integrated mill, now expects to be able to post a pre-tax profit of Yen 30 billion ($284.6 million) on a consolidated basis for fiscal 2020 (April 2020-March 2021), reversing its earlier projection of a Yen 60 billion pre-tax loss, the company announced on February 5.
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Japan’s crude steel output including both carbon and special steel is estimated to rise by 7.8% on quarter to about 23.7 million tonnes over January-March, according to a survey released by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) on February 3, indicating the further improvement in steel demand.
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For the first time on record, during 2020 the ratio of coal-fuelled thermal power generating capacity installed in China fell to less than half of the country’s total power capacity, according to a new report by the China Electricity Council (CEC) published on February 2. Last year, coal was the core input for about 1.08 billion kW of electricity generation capacity in China, accounting for 49.1% of the country’s total of 2.2 billion kW, the report noted.
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Chinese automotive dealers selling heavy-duty trucks seem to have enjoyed a sizzling start to the new year, according to the latest release from Beijing-headquartered Commercial Vehicle World on February 2. Preliminary sales data for January indicate that truck sales increased by a huge 62% on year to around 189,000 units, CVWorld noted, adding that manufacturers and dealers seem set to boost sales further during the first half of this year ahead of new regulations on truck emissions taking effect.
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Japan’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for its manufacturing industry for January 2021 has declined by 0.2 basis points on month to 49.8 mainly due to lower output with the resurgence of the COVID-19, according to the release from au Jibun Bank Corporation on February 1.