Steel mill profits improve, pig iron production increases slightly

According to the SMM survey, on September 18, the operating rate of blast furnaces in 242 steel mills surveyed by SMM was 88.75%, up 0.13% WoW. The capacity utilisation rate of blast furnaces was 89.76%, up 0.16% WoW. The daily average pig iron production of the sample steel mills was 2.4116 million mt, up 4,400 mt WoW.

According to SMM statistics, during this period, a total of three blast furnaces were shut down for maintenance, while four blast furnaces resumed production. Recently, the cost pressure of raw materials for steel mills has eased somewhat, and profits have slightly increased. This has slowed down the addition of new blast furnace maintenance, and the blast furnaces that were previously under maintenance have resumed production as planned, showing a slight upward trend in pig iron production.

Looking ahead to this week, end-user demand is expected to continue to improve, and steel mill profits may further recover. If the blast furnaces that were previously under maintenance resume production as planned, pig iron production is expected to continue to rise.