Top news on China steel and other commodity markets
Chinese export prices of commercial grade hot-rolled coils (HRC) continued rising during the week of April 22-26, while overseas inquires for China-origin hot coils were sparse, Mysteel's weekly market roundup shows.
China's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for the steel industry rebounded to 47.9 in April, marking a 3.7 percentage point increase from March, the official index compiler - CFLP Steel Logistics Professional Committee (CSLPC) - said in its release on April 30.
China's total output of crude stainless steel for the first quarter of this year came in at 8.6 million tonnes, higher by 177,000 tonnes or 2.1% compared with the same period last year, according to the statistics released by the Stainless Steel Council of China Iron and Steel Association (CSSC)
China's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for the manufacturing industry slipped to 50.4 in April, staying in the expansion zone for the second month despite the on-month fall of 0.4 index point, according to the latest release by China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on April 30.
"A Glance of the China Steel Market" provides charts of key indicators such as prices, inventories and capacity utilization to keep you informed of the latest China steel industry trends.
The total volume of iron ore shipments dispatched to global destinations from the 19 ports and 16 mining companies in Australia and Brazil under Mysteel's regular survey increased for the second straight week to reach 26 million tonnes over April 22-28, higher by 1.4 million tonnes or 5.8% on week,
Chinese prices of seaborne imported coking coal lost ground during April 22-26. Meanwhile, the pace of price increase for Mongolian coking coal delivered into China has also slowed during the same period.
The fundamentals of China's imported ore market are set to see further improvement soon, market sources suggest, primarily because of a modest uptick in demand for iron ore as steel mills continue lifting their output. Also, iron ore port stocks seem finally on the brink of declining.
Production of hot-rolled coils (HRC) among the 37 Chinese flat steel producers Mysteel regularly monitors eased to 3.16 million tonnes during April 22-26, down by 75,500 tonnes or 2.34% on week, Mysteel's latest weekly production survey shows.
After China in mid-April rolled out specific measures to facilitate and encourage equipment renewals and replacements of consumer goods, about 15 provinces and cities across the country have successively introduced their implementation plans focusing on the trade-ins of cars and home appliances, acc