Hot-rolled coil output to expand 0.7% in Aug

SHANGHAI, Aug 8 (SMM) – Planned production of hot-rolled coil across major steelmakers in China for August came in less than expected, which eased concerns about fundamentals after the top steelmaking hub Tangshan loosened its curbs.

An SMM survey showed that mills plan to produce 9.7 million mt of HRC this month, up 0.7% from realised output in July. About 637,000 mt would be exported, and this is up 1.9% from a month ago. Volumes slated to enter domestic markets are likely to grow 0.6% to 9.07 million mt.

Recovery from production curbs and maintenance account for the potentially higher output, but the increase is moderate, as improved demand for cold-rolled materials keeps some mills from continuing the shift to the production of hot-rolled products and as some mills will conduct maintenance.

Rizhao Steel will put its 2,150-mm hot rolling line under maintenance for 12 days, with output impacted by about 15,000 mt per day. On August 6, a 2,580-m³ blast furnace at Anshan Steel began maintenance, which is expected to last for 22 days and impact output of molten iron by 6,000 mt per day.