China’s crude steel output maintained the uptrend in the first quarter of 2020, gaining 1.2% on year to 234.5 million tonnes, though the pace slowed down from the 3.1% on-year growth over January-February with less output in March, according to the latest statistics released by the country’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on April 17.
For March alone, China’s crude steel production decreased 1.7% on year to approximately 79 million tonnes, and the daily output fell to a new low since March 2019, averaging 2.55 million tonnes/day, also down 1.2% from that for the first two months of 2020, Mysteel Global calculated basing on the NBS data.
Many Chinese steelmakers had kept their steel output low in March because of the heavy pressure on finished steel both at the mills and at the traders when the domestic demand has only started to show signs of consistent recovery since mid and late March with the reoperations of many downstream industries such as the construction sites, Mysteel Global notes.
The total stocks of the five major finished steel items comprising rebar, wire rod, hot-rolled coil, cold rolled coil, and medium plate at China’s 184 steel mills, for example, added up to 10.9 million tonnes as of March 25, 108.7% higher on year, and that held by traders in the 35 cities country-wide up 51.7% on year to 24.3 million tonnes as of March 26, according to Mysteel’s data.
China's national price of the HRB 400 20mm dia rebar, under the pressure of stocks, averaged Yuan 3,628/tonne ($512/t) including the 13% VAT for March, down another Yuan 93/t on month or Yuan 425/t lower on year, according to Mysteel’s data.
In the first quarter, China’s finished steel production slipped 1.6% on year to 267.4 million tonnes, compared with a 3.4% year-on-year drop for January-February, as the country’s March finished steel output inched down 0.1% on year to 98.9 million tonnes, according to the NBS’s data,
China’s crude steel output maintained the uptrend in the first quarter of 2020, gaining 1.2% on year to 234.5 million tonnes, though the pace slowed down from the 3.1% on-year growth over January-February with less output in March, according to the latest statistics released by the country’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on April 17.
For March alone, China’s crude steel production decreased 1.7% on year to approximately 79 million tonnes, and the daily output fell to a new low since March 2019, averaging 2.55 million tonnes/day, also down 1.2% from that for the first two months of 2020, Mysteel Global calculated basing on the NBS data.
Many Chinese steelmakers had kept their steel output low in March because of the heavy pressure on finished steel both at the mills and at the traders when the domestic demand has only started to show signs of consistent recovery since mid and late March with the reoperations of many downstream industries such as the construction sites, Mysteel Global notes.
The total stocks of the five major finished steel items comprising rebar, wire rod, hot-rolled coil, cold rolled coil, and medium plate at China’s 184 steel mills, for example, added up to 10.9 million tonnes as of March 25, 108.7% higher on year, and that held by traders in the 35 cities country-wide up 51.7% on year to 24.3 million tonnes as of March 26, according to Mysteel’s data.
China's national price of the HRB 400 20mm dia rebar, under the pressure of stocks, averaged Yuan 3,628/tonne ($512/t) including the 13% VAT for March, down another Yuan 93/t on month or Yuan 425/t lower on year, according to Mysteel’s data.
In the first quarter, China’s finished steel production slipped 1.6% on year to 267.4 million tonnes, compared with a 3.4% year-on-year drop for January-February, as the country’s March finished steel output inched down 0.1% on year to 98.9 million tonnes, according to the NBS’s data,
