WEEKLY SUMMARY: China's steel raw mat prices slip

Chinese prices for major steelmaking materials including iron ore and metallurgical coke headed lower over March 17-21, as the recovery of downstream steel consumption was relatively slow during what was supposed to be a traditional peak season, though steel mills were lifting their production in the past week.

The blast furnace (BF) capacity utilization rate among the 247 Chinese steel mills under Mysteel's regular survey rose by 2.13 percentage points on week over March 14-20 to reach a seven-month high at 86.57%. The marked increase was attributed to the restart of more BFs after maintenance, but the