[SMM Steel]

Today, the HRC main contract closed at 3,309 yuan/mt, trading in a weak, range-bound pattern with a full-day decline of 0.09%. In the spot market, both hot-rolled and cold-rolled coil prices held steady on the day, with moderate trading activity.On the supply side, the impact from HRC rolling line maintenance this week amounted to 109,700 mt, down 12,900 mt from last week, with output recovering modestly. However, the market is abuzz with talk that a number of steel mills, constrained by losses, are stepping up maintenance activity. SMM is continuing to track these developments, though the impact on hot-rolling operations remains limited for now.On the demand side, the "Golden September" peak season is still in the process of gradually materializing. Construction activity, affected by the lag in earlier funding transmission, has yet to show concentrated restocking. Downstream acceptance of high-priced resources remains low, while low-priced resources are trading reasonably well. That said, cost pass-through continues to provide solid support on the downside, and coil prices are expected to remain range-bound.

[SMM Steel] Market feedback indicates that for Q235B HRC with specifications of 3.5*1250*C, the FOB transaction price was $496/mt, with shipment from Jingtang Port to Pakistan.

The UK government announced on September 14 that it will work towards the public acquisition of Speciality Steel UK (SSUK) after concluding that the proposed sale to the preferred private-sector bidder could not provide sufficient long-term stability, certainty or value for money. SSUK operates sites in Rotherham, Stocksbridge, Brinsworth and Wednesbury, supporting more than 1,300 jobs, and produces speciality steels used in the aerospace, defence, automotive and advanced-manufacturing sectors. The UK government's steel strategy lists SSUK's Rotherham operation with around 1.2Mtpa of electric-arc-furnace capacity. The government said any acquisition and future spending remain subject to due diligence, while options being considered include continued speciality-steel production, regeneration and future private investment. Separately, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds was reported as estimating that the overall intervention could cost around $472 million (£350 million), including creditor settlements, asset acquisition and working capital; however, this figure was not included in the government's formal announcement and should be treated as a reported estimate rather than a committed acquisition price.