Top news on China steel and other commodity markets
The number of profitable steel mills in China has increased steadily since the second half of March, and now about half of all Chinese steel mills are gaining some profits when selling their steel, thanks to their lower production costs and the recovery in finished steel prices, Mysteel Global
Domestic production of iron ore concentrates among the 186 Chinese mining enterprises Mysteel regularly tracks averaged 518,300 tonnes/day over April 5-18, rising by a small 2,200 t/d or 0.4% on fortnight, according to Mysteel's latest survey results.
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
Rebar production among the 137 Chinese steelmakers regularly tracked by Mysteel bounced back over April 11-17, rising by 3.8% or 79,200 tonnes on week to reach 2.18 million tonnes, the latest weekly survey showed. The tonnage was still lower by a substantial 26% than the same period last year, the
Imported iron ore stocks at Chinese major 45 ports under Mysteel's weekly survey topped 145.6 million tonnes on April 18, after rising for 17 consecutive weeks by another 720,900 tonnes on week. Meanwhile, the volume was also 13% higher than the level a year earlier.
The continuous and firm gains in Chinese steel prices during the past week saw the profit margins expanding further among domestic blast-furnace (BF) steelmakers, thereby encouraging the mills to lift their production, Mysteel's latest survey showed.
Coal production in China's leading coal-mining province, Shanxi, declined during January-March, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) show, with output slumping by 18.9% on year to reach 271.62 million tonnes. China's other three coal-producing regions recorded increases in output in Q1,
The steady decline in stocks of the five major steel items held by traders across China under Mysteel's tracking that began in mid-March continues, with inventories thinning for the sixth straight week over April 12-18 by another 4.6%, the results of the latest survey showed. Behind the erosion in s
The US president Joe Biden called on his administration to consider tripling the existing 7.5% tariff rates on Chinese steel and aluminum products during a campaign event at the United Steelworkers headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on April 17.
China's run-of-mine (ROM) iron ore output totalled 284.1 million tonnes in the first quarter of this year, registering a marked rise of 15.3% on year, according to the latest statistics from the country's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).