WEEKLY: China's EAF mills ponder lifting output as profits recover

Steel production among China's electric-arc-furnace (EAF) steel mills fell further during this week as the makers reacted to their persistently negative margins, Mysteel's latest survey showed. However, the EAF mills' losses on steel sales have shrunk significantly, which should encourage some mills to rev up production next week, survey respondents suggested.

During April 12-18, the average capacity utilization rate of the 87 independent EAF mills under Mysteel's regular tracking had dropped for the third straight week by another 1.48 percentage points on week to reach 49.07%, while their operational rates averaged 64.75%, lower by 2.09 percentage points from the prior