SHANGHAI, Jan 11 (SMM) — This is a roundup of news in the steel industry for last week.
Import of secondary steel raw materials opens, Ouyeel signed its first order with Mitsui & Co.
On December 31, 2020, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the National Development and Reform Commission, the General Administration of Customs, the Ministry of Commerce, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology jointly issued the "Announcement on Regulating the Import Management of Secondary Steel Materials" , which has taken effect from January 1, 2021.
It is reported that Ouyeel Chain Gold Renewable Resources Co., Ltd has signed a contract for the import of secondary steel materials with Mitsui and becomes the first domestic import order after the announcement took effect.
The announcement mentioned that secondary steel raw materials meeting the standard in the announcement (GB/T 39733-2020) are no longer classified as solid waste and can be freely imported. It also announced the customs commodity code of secondary steel raw materials.
Operating rates of blast furnaces across Chinese steelmakers at 88.5%, EAF mills operating rates at 77.64%
Operating rates of blast furnaces at Chinese steelmakers decreased year on year last week, as some steel plants were restricted by raw materials and turned into maintenance due to the continuous shortage of coke. An SMM survey showed that the operating rates of BFs at steel mills in China lost 0.5 percentage point from the prior week and fell 0.14% from the previous year to 88% as of January 7.
Operating rates across 34 EAF mills of construction steel in China stood at 83.18% as of January 5, up 85.7% on on the week. Rebar profits stood at 494 yuan/mt as of January 5, and net profits at steel mills stood at 200-300 yuan/mt due to the release of power restrictions. Producers were active about production at full capacity, buoying the operating rates.
Operating rates at domestic mines to continue to decline slightly in January
In December, operating rates at domestic mines stood at 55.9%, down 0.4 percentage point month-on-month. Operating rates at state-owned and private mines fell 0.2 percentage point and 0.5 percentage point respectively. Operating rates fell across all major production regions, except for increase in Hebei and south-west China. The decline in operating rates was due to lower ROM grade, mine shutdowns after mining license expired, closures of some small beneficiation plants in high-altitude regions in cold weather, environmental protection inspections in some regions, longer maintenance or slower production at some large and medium-sized mines after they achieved annual targets, as well as accidents or annual maintenance at some mines.
However, some mines increased operating rates further due to high profits and demand. Some mines that resumed production also increased output. The impact from environmental inspections lessened in some areas.
Some large and medium-sized mines, whose production was affected by the pandemic in H1 2020, increased output significantly in H2, and their full-year output even exceeded the planned amount at the beginning of the year.
Operating rates are expected to continue to decline slightly in January, due to the expiration of mining licenses, equipment maintenance and colder weather. However, some mines will increase production.
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