-
China’s iron ore prices gained on January 17, with Mysteel’s price index for portside 62% Fe Australian iron ore fines (PORTDEX 62% Fe Australian iron ore fines) reversing up by Yuan 6/wmt ($0.86/wmt) on day to reach Yuan 679/wmt FOT Qingdao including the 13% VAT. On the same day, Mysteel’s price index for seaborne 62% Fe Australian iron ore fines (SEADEX 62% Fe Australian iron ore fines) nudged up $0.5/dmt on day to $95.75/dmt CFR Qingdao.
-
Brazilian miner Vale, the world’s top iron ore miner, has decided to suspend waste and tailings operations at its Esperança mine in Brumadinho, Minas Gerais state, Southeast Brazil, according to an official announcement released on its website on January 16 local time.
-
Rebar prices in China’s physical market stayed steady over the week of January 13-17 as market activity quietened markedly with the approach of Chinese New Year. Prices in the futures market also remain rangebound, and market sources told Mysteel Global they doubted they would see any significant changes in prices before the holiday.
-
China’s crude steel output totalled 996 million tonnes for full year 2019, representing a jump of 8.3% compared with the total for 2018 and hitting an all-time high, according to the latest statistics released by the country’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on January 17.
-
China’s production of raw coal for all uses increased by 4.2% on year to reach 3.7 billion tonnes in 2019, according to data from the country’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) published on January 17. Domestic coke output grew too, rising by 5.2% on year to reach 471.3 million tonnes, the NBS statistics show.
-
For 2019, China’s gross domestic product grew 6.1% on year to Yuan 99 trillion ($14 trillion), with the final result coming within the central government’s targeted range for last year of 6-6.5%, according to National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data released on the release on January 17. “Most of the tasks were fulfilled, laying a solid foundation for China to develop into a well-off society,” NBS commented.
-
Fixed asset investment (FAI) in China’s manufacturing sector grew by a total of 5.4% on year during full year 2019, up 0.2 percentage point from the first eleven months, according to the latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released on Friday. FAI in the domestic property market increased by 9.9% on year during January-December, though this was off by a tiny 0.3 percentage point from the January-November reading, the data show.
-
Blast furnace capacity utilization among the 247 blast-furnace steel companies across China which Mysteel surveys weekly decreased further by 0.53 percentage point on week to 78.88% over the week of January 10-16, according to Mysteel’s latest survey published on January 17. The use rate was still 2.43 percentage points higher than this time last year, however.
-
Stocks of imported iron ore at China’s 45 major ports increased by a small 360,700 tonnes or 0.3% on week to 123.7 million tonnes as of January 16, after declining for two weeks straight which saw 3.57 million tonnes removed, Mysteel's latest weekly survey showed. The rise in inventories followed the easing of congestion at some ports and largely offset the higher overall daily discharge of ore during the period, respondents said.
-
Indian importers are heard to have booked HRC for imports from South Korea towards the end of the last week for March shipments SteelMint learned from market participants.
-
China’s domestic steel price stayed quiet as most of the downstream construction sites have suspended their operations and many traders have started their long holiday for the Chinese New Year in advance. China’s national average price for HRB 400 20mm dia rebar remained stable on day at Yuan 3,835/tonne ($558/t) including the 13% VAT as of January 16.
-
China’s fixed asset investment (FAI) in manufacturing sector grew 5.4% on year for 2019 among which the FAI into property market up 9.9% on year, according to the latest statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics. A detailed report will be posted soon.
-
China’s total production of raw coal for
all use increased by 4.2% on year at 3.7 billion tonnes in 2019, and the
country’s coke output grew 5.2% on year at 471.3 million tonnes last year. A
detailed report will be posted soon.
-
China's 2019 crude steel output grew 8.3% on year to about 996.3 million tonnes, with the December volume up 11.6% on year to 84.3 million tonnes. A detailed report will be posted soon.
-
China’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 6.1% on year for 2019 to Yuan 99 trillion ($14 trillion), according to the latest statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics. A detailed report will be posted soon.
-
Khouzestan Steel Company (KSC) - one of the leading exporters of Iran has concluded a billet export deal of quantity recently. The deal quantity is of 30,000 MT for size 150*150 mm, 5sp grade for Mar’20 shipment. As per market sources, the company has concluded the deal to South East Asia. The deal value was reported to be around USD 400/MT, FOB Iran.
-
Chinese steel market sources agree that domestic steel market prices will hover in a narrow range in February after the Chinese New Year holiday over January 24-30, predicting that supply and demand will be stable as cautiousness will prevail, Mysteel Global has learned.
-
Production summary
Source: Rio Tinto,
released on January 17
-
Coal miners in China are beginning to idle operations for the upcoming Chinese New Year break over January 24-30, according to market sources. Besides their preparations to celebrate the festival, safety is emerging as another consideration among mine owners and local authorities, Mysteel Global learns.
-
China and the US trade tension has shown signs of easing as the two countries signed their phase-one economic and trade agreement on January 15 (Washington time) after nearly two years of trade frictions and talks, according to a news report by Xinhua News Agency on January 16.
