Worldstainless: Global crude stainless output rises 6% in H1

The results showed that crude stainless output in all the major countries and regions posted on-year rises of varying degrees during January-June, with the combined production of mills in Brazil, Indonesia, Russia, South Africa, and South Korea increasing the most, jumping by 10.5% to total 3.84 million tonnes.

Production of crude stainless steel in the Europe was almost stable during the first half year, with the tonnage edging up 0.3% on year to 3.14 million tonnes, according to the association.

China, the world's largest stainless producer and consumer, produced 18.75 million tonnes of crude stainless steel during the six months, higher by 5.9% from the same period last year.

The country's apparent consumption of stainless steel increased accordingly over January-June to 15.69 million tonnes, rising by 862,200 tonnes or 5.8% on year, according to the data released in late July by the Stainless Steel Council of China Iron and Steel Association (CSSC).

The high production put some pressure on China's stainless market, as demand from end-users was not so strong, and stainless stocks at traders' warehouses stayed at a high level, Mysteel Global noted.

By the end of June, the spot price of 304/2B Hongwang 2*1240mm stainless cold-rolled coil in Wuxi in East China's Jiangsu was assessed by Mysteel at Yuan 13,900/tonne ($1,950/t) in-warehouse and including the 13% VAT, dropping by Yuan 1,100/t from end-June 2023.

For the second quarter of this year, the world's total crude stainless production came in at 15.76 million tonnes, higher by 7.9% from the first quarter, the worldstainless statistics also show.

World's crude stainless steel output in H1 2024.

Source: worldstainless

Written by Nancy Zheng, zhengmm@mysteel.com

Edited by Russ McCulloch, russ.mcculloch@mysteel.com