As of February 21, the operating rate of BF steel mills was 88.7%, down 0.3 percentage points from pre-holiday level, SMM survey showed. According to SMM's current tracking, steel price slip may leave some steel mills with a plan of scheduled maintenance, feeding into lower-than-expected pig iron output.
According to SMM survey of 50 EF steel mills that mainly produce construction steel, their operating rates was 3.44% as of February 20, up 3.44 percentage points from pre-holiday level. Looking ahead, output of EFs may surge this week amid expectations of intensive production resumption after Lantern Festival.
![Los precios del magnesio suben por tercera sesión consecutiva: el lado de los costos sigue "ardiendo" mientras la demanda lucha por tomar el relevo [Comentario de SMM]](https://imgqn.smm.cn/usercenter/EutUV20251217171724.jpeg)
