China’s daily crude steel output reversed down in early November as the new round of emergency production curbs imposed on steelmakers impacted output. Average daily tonnage over November 1-10 was down 22,400 tonnes/day or nearly 1% from the last eleven days of October to reach 2.34 million t/d, according to Mysteel’s latest survey among 247 blast-furnace and 101 electric-arc-furnace steel producers across the country released on November 11.
The daily result for early November was the lowest since the record of 2.23 million t/d recorded over October 1-10, as steel mills in many provinces throughout North, East and Central China were requested to implement a new round of emergency constraints to reduce pollutant emissions after smog had been predicted. The constraints started from October 31, and some areas eased the curbs from November 4, but others continued the restrictions till November 7, as Mysteel Global reported.
Thus, the average blast furnace utilization rate among the surveyed 247 BF steelmakers across China decreased accordingly, with that for the November 1-7 week reversing down 1.09 percentage points on the week to 77.39%, according to Mysteel’s database.
Domestic steel prices, especially for construction steel, have increased steadily recently, with the average price for HRB400 20mm dia rebar, a bellwether of the domestic steel market sentiment, having been on a gradual uptrend since late October. The price as of November 8 reached Yuan 3,895/tonne ($557/t) including the 13% VAT, higher by Yuan 43/t from that on October 31, Mysteel’s data showed.
This was mainly thanks to the firm demand from building contractors during that period. Over November 1-8, the spot trading volume of construction steel including rebar, wire rod, and bar-in-coil among the 237 sampled traders across China averaged 210,003 t/d, representing a rise of 1,381 t/d compared with the average level for late October, according to Mysteel’s data.
However, many market participants remain concerned about the domestic steel market, as demand from users is expected to shrink further with the falling temperatures in northern China, Mysteel Global learned from the market.
This article has been published under article exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and SteelMint Research
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