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China’s price of 60% ferromolybdenum (FeMo) refreshed its one-year high of Yuan 116,000/tonne ($17,945.2/t) including the 13% VAT as of February 26, according to Mysteel’s assessment. Higher production costs and improved demand had supported the increase, respondents to Mysteel’s latest weekly survey said.
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We are almost two months into 2021, and the global iron ore prices have so far appeared rather resilient especially with the serious surges after the Chinese New Year holiday over February 11-17, and with the anticipation of global economic recovery and the recent booms in the steel prices in many countries including China, the worldwide ferrous community is wondering whether the history of 2020 will repeat this year.
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Daily crude steel output among China’s 318 steel mills under Mysteel’s regular survey reversed up by 3.3% from the prior ten days to average 2.86 million tonnes/day over February 21-28, ending the continuous decrease since the start of January, according to Mysteel’s latest release on March 1. Domestic steel mills had resumed production after completing maintenance on steelmaking facilities, survey respondents explained.
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Production at steel mills, fabrication companies, mines and logistics enterprises in North China are preparing for some disruption to their business over the coming two weeks as Beijing plays host to thousands of visiting party members and officials for the year’s two most crucial political events convening this week.
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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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The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for China’s steel industry for February scored 48.6, or having reversed up by 4.3 basis points on month, indicating “the obvious revival in both the domestic demand and supply despite the Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday over February 11-17”, according to the latest release from CFLP Steel Logistics Professional Committee (CSLPC) on February 28, the authorized index compiler.
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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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Shagang Group (Shagang), China’s largest privately-owned steel producer and a leading rebar supplier in East China’s Jiangsu province, is raising list prices of rebar by Yuan 150/tonne ($23.2/t) for sales over March 1-10, the company announced March 1, after keeping its prices unchanged since January 11.
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Carbon steel prices in China’s domestic spot and futures markets moved up further over February 22-26, propelled by sustained optimism about business fundamentals. However, the momentum had slowed by week’s end as actual demand had not fully recovered, Mysteel Global noted.
