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Tangshan city, China’s top steel producing base in North China’s Hebei province, is strengthening efforts to control air pollution, according to a government notice seen by Mysteel on August 19.
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China’s FOB prices of major steel products declined further by $10-15/t on week over August 12-16, and sales were slack due to both weak demand in the global steel market and lack of competitiveness in pricing, according to Mysteel’s export market surveys.
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Production of air conditioners, washing machines and televisions by China’s home appliance makers all saw declines in July, while that of refrigerators remained firm, according to the latest data released by China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
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China’s domestic rebar output grew the most among the major finished steel products in July, up 26% on year to 22.5 million tonnes, though the growth rate was 2.7 percentage points short of that for June, according to the latest output breakdowns by product from China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
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Fangda Special Steel Technology Co in East China’s Jiangxi province, one of China’s most profitable steel mills in 2018, saw its crude steel output down 5.7% on year in H1, as its NO. 2 blast furnace has been suspended since an explosion in late May, a company official confirmed on August 16.
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Chongqing Iron & Steel Co (Chonggang) in Southwest China’s Chongqing municipality, continued with its revival after the ownership restructuring in November 2017, posting its H1 steel output at a record high of 3.3 million tonnes, according to its latest interim report.
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Mysteel’s Tangshan Q235 150mm square billet benchmark price, a barometer of China’s steel market, fell further by Yuan 20/tonne ($2.8/t) from last Friday to a two-month low of Yuan 3,420/t EXW and including 13% VAT as of August 18.
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After half a month of normal operations, steel re-rollers in Fengrun district of Tangshan, North China’s Hebei province, have halted their production starting August 16 on the local authority’s request.
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China’s national average price for HRB400 20mm dia rebar reversed down on August 15 after a two-day rebound, dipping by Yuan 6/tonne ($0.9/t) on day to Yuan 3,842/t including the 13% VAT even though the steel inventories at the traders showed signs of decreases.
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Steps taken gradually by many Chinese steel mills over the past week to control their steel production to avoid sliding into loss – or, for those already losing money, clawing their way back – has resulted in the country’s steel output dipping further over the past few days.
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Steel futures contracts on Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) rebounded on Thursday after Wednesday’s dip as data showing declines in domestic steel stocks came as a surprise to many.
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China Steel Corporation (CSC), Taiwan’s top steel producer headquartered in Kaohsiung, South Taiwan, is proposing to release its steel list prices on a monthly basis from 2020 rather than quarterly as now, to assist in enhancing the competitiveness of its downstream customers, it says.
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Shandong province in East China is still dealing with the damage after the Typhoon Lekima slammed the region on August 11-12, and industrial enterprises such as nonferrous smelters and steel mills have their operations affected, Mysteel Global understood from the local companies on Wednesday.
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China’s sales of excavators and other heavy machinery over January-July increased by 13.9% on year to 149,553 units, according to an August 13 release by the China Construction Machinery Association (CCMA), with July sales alone being higher by 11% on year at 12,346 units.
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China’s pig iron production declined for a second month in July, dipping by 1.83 million tonnes or 2.6% on month to 68.31 million tonnes, according to the latest data released by the country’s National Bureau of Statistics on August 14. The total tonnage was up by just a tiny 0.6% on year, the data show.
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The United States will remove some Chinese export items initially eyed for a 10% import tariff from next month and delay the imposition of tariffs on certain other products until December 15, according to a release from the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced on August 13 (Beijing time). At the start of this month, US president Donald Trump had warned the new round of tariff penalties would apply from September 1, as Mysteel reported.
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China’s daily output of the five major carbon steel items is expected to reverse up this month, gaining 35,000 tonnes/day or about 2% on month to 1.81 million t/d, according to Mysteel’s latest monthly production survey among 216 steelmakers across China published on August 13. The five majors comprise rebar, wire rod, hot-rolled coil, cold-rolled coil and medium plate.
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Over January-July, China’s produced about 577 million tonnes of crude steel, up 9% on year, or 0.9 percentage point lower than that for H1 of 2019 because of less steel output for July, according to the latest statistics released by the country’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on August 14.
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Over January-July, China's fixed asset investment (FAI) in general grew 5.7% on year to Yuan 34.9 trillion ($5 trillion), among which that in property market grew 10.6% on year, both being down 0.1 percentage point and 0.3 percentage point respectively from the first half of 2019, according to latest updates from China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on August 14.
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China's crude steel output grew 9% on year to 577 million tonnes over January-July, with the July volume up 5% on year to around 85 million tonnes. A detailed report will be posted soon.
