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Mysteel’s PORTDEX 62% Fe Australian Fines rose further on July 13 by a large Yuan 31/wmt ($4.4/wmt) – the largest single-day jump since May 29 – from last Friday to reach Yuan 852/wmt FOT Qingdao and including the 13% VAT. On the same day, the SEADEX 62% Fe Australian Fines index reached $111.4/dmt CFR Qingdao, higher by $4.55/dmt from July 10. Both prices were 11-month highs.
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China’s silicomanganese (SiMn) output declined for a fourth consecutive week over July 3-9, as more smelters reduced output given their increased production costs and the persistent weakness in the prices of the ferroalloy, Mysteel Global learned.
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China’s market for imported iron ore saw more trading for seaborne ore cargoes over July 6-10 amid the healthy profits that imported ore still offers, Mysteel Global noted from market sources.
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China has raised the flooding alert to orange from yellow since July 12 with historically high water levels at many rivers and lakes, but so far steel mills in the affected provinces in East, Central and Southwest China have been operating as per normal, and have taken extra preventive measures, market sources shared on Monday.
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Chinese prices of seaborne metallurgical coal were generally stable over July 6-10, as the market cooled last week when fewer bid and offer activities were observed, according to sources.
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China’s domestic steel scrap market remained generally steady over the week of July 3-10, with the mills’ demand remaining firm and availability of scrap remaining tight amid the slowdown in scrap collecting because of the wet season rains and humidity. As of July 10, Mysteel’s steel scrap price index had increased for a second week by another Yuan 7.3/tonne ($1/t) on week to Yuan 2,515.5/t on delivery and including the 13% VAT.
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The continuous four-month rally in daily crude steel production among the 318 Chinese steel mills Mysteel monitors came to a gradual end earlier this month, with the tonnage retreating by 18,800 tonnes/day or 0.6% from late-June’s record high to average 2.93 million t/d over July 1-10, as more steelmakers commenced maintenance during the traditional off season for steel consumption.
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Shagang Group (Shagang), China’s largest electric-arc-furnace (EAF) steelmaker, raised its steel scrap procurement price by Yuan 50/tonne ($7.1/t) effective July 12, or the second rise by Yuan 50/t after June 24, on noting lower deliveries to its steelworks when the other Chinese steel mills have all maintained stable production in general, market sources commented on Monday.
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Shagang Group, China’s largest long steel producer, announced on July 11 to roll over its long steel list prices for sales over July 11-20, or the third time of no change in a row for its ten-day sales, despite the moderate price recovery in the domestic spot market recently.
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Prices of steelmaking raw materials including iron ore and coke in China moved toward opposite directions over July 6-10 in the context of the improvement in the domestic steel market sentiment and prices.
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Indian low-grade iron ore fines prices gained by $2/t w-o-w amid active deal-making. SteelMint assessed the Fe 58/57% fines at $72-73/t, CFR China.
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Over July 6-10, China’s rebar and HRC prices recovered on the declines in steel production, the slowdown in steel stocks build-up, as well as the growing market optimism in the next few months that had boosted spot sales.
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China’s sales of excavators for domestic customers and exports totalled 24,625 units in June, still higher by 62.9% on year, though sales have been recording a steady on-month decline for four consecutive months, according to the latest release of the China Construction Machinery Association (CCMA) on July 9.
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Tata Steel reported a 37% q-o-q drop and a 34% y-o-y drop in output at its Indian operations to 2.99mn t in Q1 FY’21.
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The steady commissioning of new and advanced coal capacity across China has lifted the number of mega coal mines in operation with capacities exceeding 10 million tonnes/year to 52 as of early July, a large increase on the 44 mega mines working as at end-2019, according to a report by China National Coal Association (CNCA) published on July 9.
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China’s prices for imported iron ore were generally steady on July 10, with Mysteel’s PORTDEX 62% Fe Australian Fines recovering by a tiny Yuan 2/wmt ($0.3/wmt) on day to reach Yuan 821/wmt FOT Qingdao and including the 13% VAT. On the same day, the SEADEX 62% Fe Australian Fines index stayed at $106.85/dmt CFR Qingdao, unchanged on day.
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The Pilbara Ports Authority (PPA) authority says the total volume of all commodities shipped through its ports reached an all-time record high of 717.2 million tonnes over its July 2019-June 2020 financial year, out of which iron ore exports from Port Hedland and Port of Dampier, Western Australia’s two important iron ore terminals, accounted for 668 million tonnes, higher by 3.1% on year. Other commodities sailing from the ports included manganese ore, salt and LNG, Mysteel Global notes.
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Domestic auto production and sales saw on-year rises for the third successive month in June after declining for 21 straight months, with the recent recovery of the auto industry’s performance seen as helping more to prop up demand for hot-rolled coil (HRC) than cold-rolled coil (CRC), Mysteel Global has learned.
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Coke stocks at the 110 Chinese steel mills under Mysteel’s weekly survey increased for a second week by another 61,900 tonnes or 1.3% on week to reach a 13-week high of 4.9 million tonnes as of July 9, chiefly because of the increase in coke arrivals at plants, according to Mysteel’s latest survey.
