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China’s imported iron ore prices for both port inventories and seaborne cargoes increased further on February 26.
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Soon after Chinese coke plants agreed to reduce their sales prices for coke by Yuan 100/tonne ($15.5/t) early this week, some steelmakers in North China’s Shanxi have taken the lead to cut coke procurement prices by another Yuan 100/t from February 26, arguing that despite this week’s concession, coke prices are still too high.
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Prices of rebar in China’s spot and futures markets rose further this week, fuelled by optimism both for a steel demand recovery and a macro-economic rebound, according to market pundits. But for now, the fundamentals are not reflecting that anticipation of better business ahead, Mysteel Global noted.
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Iron ore concentrate stocks held by the 186 Chinese mining companies under Mysteel's regular survey reached a three-month high of 1.9 million tonnes as of February 25, even though output during the period had eased. Disruptions to iron ore concentrate deliveries from mines to mills and softened demand in some regions contributed to the increase in stocks, according to survey respondents.
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Shagang Group (Shagang), China’s largest electric-arc-furnace (EAF) steelmaker, has raised its steel scrap procurement price by Yuan 100/tonne ($15.5/t) effective from February 26, according tyo a brief announcement from the mill late Thursday.
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Some domestic yellow goods dealers in East and Central China have begun raising sales prices of their heavy equipment beginning late February, trying to offset higher manufacturing costs caused by climbing input prices including those of steel, Mysteel Global has learned.
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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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Blast furnace capacity utilization among the 247 steel mills across China surveyed by Mysteel remained largely stable at 92.28% as of February 25, or up merely 0.1 percentage point on week, as some Chinese steel mills had been gradually ramping up their output after the routine maintenance or the Chinese New Year holiday, according to Mysteel’s latest survey.
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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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As of February 26, China’s ferromolybdenum prices have grown to Yuan 113,000-114,000/tonne ($17,469-17,623) with some small-sized steel mills paying even higher at Yuan 116,000/t, after China has returned to work since February 18 after the Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday, mainly in tandem with the gains in the global market.
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Deals of around 275,000t pellets concluded from India in a week’s time
China’s Tangshan to tighten production curbs from end-Feb
Freight rates from India to China have risen by $8 in the last two weeks
SteelMint’s
weekly pellet export index (FOB east coast India) for Fe 64% grade has
decreased by $4/t w-o-w
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On February 25, China’s spot sales of construction steel including rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil jumped 53.5% on day, and the domestic rebar price appeared rather firm, or having recovered Yuan 9/tonne ($1.4/t) on day, Mysteel’s surveys showed.
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China’s electric-arc-furnace (EAF) steelmaking capacity may be growing another 4.1 million tonnes/year by the end of 2021 to reach a total of 186 million t/y in the context of Beijing’s commitment to peak carbon emission by 2030 and to realize carbon neutral by 2060 and the domestic steel industry’s aim to reduce the dependence on imported iron ore, according to Mysteel’s latest survey.
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Steel stocks held by traders across China increased over the first week after the Chinese New Year holiday, rising by 16.4% on week as mills passed along some stocks to traders, Mysteel Global noted.
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Silicomanganese output in Inner Mongolia, the largest SiMn production base in North China, is expected to see a further decrease in March as restrictions on electricity use imposed on local SiMn smelters have been intensified, Mysteel Global learned.
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The decline of Yuan 100/tonne ($15.5/t) in Chinese domestic coke prices since early this week will lead to a further drop Yuan 200-300/t throughout March as the current tightness of supplies eases, a Mysteel report published on February 24 predicts. But the retreat may not last because more coking capacity regarded as ‘inefficient’ and obsolete by local governments is to be stopped and removed by late March while rising demand in the meantime may see prices start climbing once again from early April, it says.
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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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With China's foreign trade in steel steadily picking up after the Chinese New Year holiday lull while international steel prices keep soaring, speculation regarding possible cuts to Chinese export tax rebates on steel has become more intense both in and out of China.
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China’s production of iron ore concentrates reached 23.1 million tonnes in January, up 2.2 million tonnes or 10.6% on year, according to Mysteel’s latest survey among 332 domestic mining companies, as domestic miners had been encouraged to ramp up production on high margins and the relatively low base number for January 2020.
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Stocks of imported iron ore sintering fines at China’s 64 steel mills under Mysteel’s regular survey, just as expected, declined 2 million tonnes or 10% over from February 10 to about 17.8 million tonnes by February 24, as the mills had been relying on their in-plant iron ore stocks during the Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday over February 10-17, according to the latest data.
