Upgrade of Production Resumption at Chinese Steel Mills, SMM Surveys

SHANGHAI, Mar. 21 (SMM) – The recent rise in China’s domestic steel market has encouraged domestic steel mills to restart production, and SMM upgrades the information of production resumption. 

Last week, Jiugang Group Yicheng Steel resumped production at one rebar production line, producing 16-mm products. 

Will Surging Steel Price Trigger Production Resumption at Chinese Steel Mills? SMM Survey

Domestic steel mills show high interest in restarting or increasing rebar production due to high profits, which stay at around 700 yuan per tonne, SMM survey finds.

At present, utilization rates at domestic steel mills are already at highs, so some mills have further increased the rate by raising the grade of ores. Some processing mills are also active in restarting production, but the shortages of steel billets after efforts to eliminate intermediate frequency furnaces have restricted their resumption. 

One Hubei Low-Grade NPI Plant Shifts to Producing Rebar

Hence, SMM predicts limited output growth from production resumption, and rebar output will be restricted if the policy that aims to eliminate unqualified intermediate frequency furnaces before June 30 is carried out effectively. 

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