China Ferrous Market Weekly Wrap Up - Feb 27, 2024
Mysteel Global
Latest updates on steel&iron ore, coke&coal, base metals, battery materials, energy&chemicals, decarbonization path.
WEEKLY: Weak steel demand seen denting China iron ore prices
The slower-than-expected recovery in finished steel consumption in China may continue dragging on the country's prices of imported iron ore, market sources warn.
Although construction labourers will gradually return to building sites this week after spending February 24 in their hometown for the Chinese Lantern Festival, any major revival in domestic steel consumption in the short term is still hard to envisage, according to a Shanghai-based market watcher.
WEEKLY: China's import coking coal prices soften in post-holiday week
Prices of imported coking coal in China for both seaborne cargoes and Mongolian coal delivered by truck inched down over February 18-23, mainly in response to slack buying activity among Chinese buyers and the negative signal coming from coke makers, market sources said. February 18 was a substitute working day in China after the Chinese New Year holiday.
As of February 23, Mysteel's assessed price for Russian K4 premium coking coal had dropped by Yuan 20/tonne ($2.9/t) from the pre-holiday level to Yuan 2,180/t. Meanwhile, prices for locally-mined Inagli fat coal had also decreased by Yuan 20/t from the same period to Yuan 1,760/t as of last Friday, both on ex-warehouse basis at North China's Jingtang port and including the 13% VAT.
WEEKLY: Chinese coke plants' output slides, stocks climb
The total volume of metallurgical coke produced by the 230 Chinese independent coking plants in Mysteel's weekly survey declined during February 15-21, slipping by 5,600 tonnes/day on week to average 511,800 t/d. The fall in coke production took the average to a 14-month low and reflected the fact that the coke makers were curtailing production to avoid further margin losses, according to industry watchers.
Mysteel's other survey conducted among a smaller sample of 30 merchant coke producers nationwide showed that as of February 22, they were losing a large Yuan 107/t ($15/t) when selling their met coke – a more damaging dent to their bottom lines than the prior week's average loss of Yuan 43/t.
WEEKLY: China steel scrap prices stable, stocks fall
Chinese steel scrap prices fluctuated within a narrow range during the past week, constrained by the tight availability and the slow recovery of demand for scrap materials, Mysteel Global learned.
As of February 23, Mysteel's national steel scrap price index stood largely unchanged on week at Yuan 3,034/tonne ($426.6/t) including the 13% VAT, lower by a small Yuan 2.9/t from February 18.
WEEKLY SUMMARY: China's major steel prices weaken on thin demand
China's prices of major steel products weakened somewhat in the second half of last week with thin sales in the physical market, as many end-users had yet to return to the market for steel replenishment, though the official Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday had ended on February 17, Mysteel Global learned.
Rebar:?As of February 23, China's national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar was assessed by Mysteel at Yuan 4,018/tonne ($558/t) including the 13% VAT, losing by Yuan 24/t from that on February 18, the first working day after the long holiday break.
WEEKLY: China's rebar output largely stable on week
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Rebar output among the 137 Chinese steel mills nationwide under Mysteel's survey remained largely stable over February 15-21, nudging down by just 0.1% or 1,900 tonnes on week to 1.92 million tonnes and making for the ninth successive weekly decline, according to the latest data.
Meanwhile, compared with the same period last year, rebar output during the survey week was lower by a significant 32%, the statistics showed.
WEEKLY: China's HRC output eases by 3.3% on week
Production of hot-rolled coils (HRC) among the 37 Chinese flat steel producers Mysteel regularly monitors totalled 3.05 million tonnes during the week of February 18-23, easing by 104,300 tonnes or 3.3% on week, the results of the latest weekly production survey show. February 18 was the first working day in much of China after the Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday officially ended on February 17, Mysteel Global notes.
In tandem, the hot-rolling capacity utilization rate among the 37 mills also moved lower?by?2.66?percentage points?on week to average?77.97% last week,?the survey found.
WEEKLY: Tangshan billet prices retreat $18/t WoW
Billet prices in Tangshan in North China's Hebei province experienced a downward correction over February 19-25 as prices were dragged south by the slides in ferrous futures prices, according to Mysteel's weekly survey. However, survey respondents pointed out that local re-rollers had gradually resumed operations last week and this resulted in their demand for billets increasing.
By February 25, the Tangshan Q235 150mm square billet price had lost Yuan 130/tonne ($18.1/t) on week to reach Yuan 3,520/t EXW and including the 13% VAT, according to Mysteel's assessment.
?? Mysteel Global's New Year webinar on "How did China's Ferrous Market Perform in 2023 and the Outlook for 2024", held on Jan 31, was a resounding success!
We received plenty of positive feedback.
?? "The webcast was quite informative and helpful. I would like to better understand what your services cover in more detail."
??"Congratulations for the webinar, very informative!"
??"I would like to thank you for yesterday’s webinar, for organizing that event and for providing all the in depth information and analysis of the market."
A wealth of questions were answered both live and via email after the webinar.
Here is the short video recap for this webinar: ?? https://youtu.be/Ray8B_Boc9s
If you would like to receive the slides and video playback of this informative webinar, click ?? https://lnkd.in/gwMVzj4n
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