Shandong Laigang to Conduct 4-Month Maintenance at Hot-Rolled Coil Line, SMM Reports

Recently, Tangshan City has initially formulated a plan for off-peak production in the steel industry during the heating season in 2021-2022.

The hot rolling plant of Guangxi Iron and Steel successfully produced 0.85mm×1280mm steel strip, breaking the world record for the thinnest hot strip rolled conventional wide-band steel products in the industry.

After the Zimbabwe Environmental Administration (EMA) approved Dingsen Steel to start operations, Mvuma, the largest steel company in the region, is ready for the trial operation.

China produced 101.74 million mt of steel semi and finished products in October, down 14.9% on the year. The output totalled 1.22 billion mt from January to February, up 2.8% on the year.

This is a roundup of news in the steel industry for last week.

On Saturday (30 October) local time, the United States and the European Union reached an agreement to ease a trade dispute that began under the Trump administration. US Commerce Secretary Raimondo, US Trade Representative Dyche and US National Security Advisor Sullivan announced that the US and the EU have reached an agreement on steel and aluminium tariffs to resolve diplomatic differences that arose during the Trump administration.

Hot-rolled steel production across 25 major Chinese steel mills in June is expected to shrink 4.6% from the realised output in May due to maintenance work and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

Overall hot-rolled coil inventories in China, as of Thursday May 17, dropped 2.2% from a week ago and 26.2% from a year ago to register at 3.12 million mt

High inventories dampened prices of hot-rolled coil as it traded lower than ex-factory prices and costs, SMM learned. But high costs are likely to keep prices rangebound with limited downward room. 

Hot-rolled coil is expected to rise on account of lowering inventory and post-holiday restocking.