China: Less than 40% of Chinese BF mills remain profitable

• Only 37.2% of Chinese BF mills remained profitable.
• Weak demand and poor margins drove production cuts.

Less than 40% of Chinese blast-furnace steel mills could make a profit on finished steel sales recently, as their production costs have stayed high, while domestic finished steel prices have hovered low amid the thin demand from end users in summer, Mysteel Global learned.

On 16 July, among the 247 BF mills under Mysteel’s regular tracking, only about 37.2% reported they could earn a margin on finished steel sales, slipping by 18.6% points compared with one month earlier, according to Mysteel’s latest survey.

China’s coking coal prices increased significantly over the past one month, and the prices of imported iron ore also hovered at high levels, lifting the production costs of domestic integrated steel mills.

On 16 July, Mysteel assessed the national composite coke price at RMB 1,839.2/tonne ($271/t) including the 13% VAT, rising by RMB 113.9/t ($17/t) from one month earlier.

Over 10-16 July, the cost of making hot metal among the 114 of these mills under Mysteel’s regular survey averaged RMB 2,375/t ($351/t) excluding the 13% VAT, higher by RMB 16/t ($2/t) on month.

However, China’s finished steel prices have lost ground amid the shrinking demand from end users, as the prolonged heatwaves and frequent heavy rains in most regions of the country hampered outdoor construction activities.

Mysteel’s assessment showed that as of 16 July, the national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar was at RMB 3,291/t ($486/t)including the 13% VAT with an on-month fall of RMB 93/t ($14/t), while the average price of Q235 4.75mm HRC nationwide had dropped by RMB 70/t ($10/t)  on month to RMB 3,331/t ($492/t) including the 13% VAT.

Poor profitability prompted more domestic steelmakers to slow production to ease the market pressure from supply side. Over 9-15 July, total production of the five major steel products comprising rebar, wire rod, hot-rolled coil (HRC), cold-rolled coil (CRC) and medium plate among Chinese steel mills sampled in Mysteel’s regular survey touched a four-month low of 8.26 million tonnes (mnt), down by 4.9% on month.

Note: This article is published as part of a content exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and BigMint.