Monthly average actual cash costs stood at $15,103/mt (Ni content) for RKEF high-grade NPI producers in Fujian in May, $15,841/mt (Ni content) in Jiangsu, and $14,096/mt (Ni content) in Shandong.

Raw material prices of the ferrous industry kept rising last week amid frequent mine accidents and expanding safety inspections.

Total import volume of NPI in March 2021 was 334,000 mt. Imports from Indonesia stood at 278,000 mt, an increase of 18.38% month-on-month but a year-on-year decrease of 1.9%. NPI and stainless steel capacity in Indonesia has commissioned simultaneously, and the growth in exports of NPI to China should be limited in the short term;

The government of Fengrun district of Tangshan, China’s top steelmaking hub, has urged local steel companies to tighten production controls between 12:00 CST June 27 and 24:00 CST June 30, in the face of unfavourable weather conditions for dispersing air pollutants.

Spot prices of rebar will face downward pressure to recover this week as supply still firms at high levels and end-users demand has yet to shake off the impact of seasonality, which continues to weigh on market sentiment and deter shipments. Nonetheless, the spot prices will be underpinned on optimism that the recent outbreak of COVID-19 cases in Beijing is under control with a decline in confirmed cases in the city and on expectations of stepped-up purchases ahead of the three-day Dragon Boat Festival holiday. 

Inventories of hot-rolled coils of steel sheets used to produce home appliances and cars in China continued to trend lower this week, indicating that demand remains robust and spot prices are likely to see further upside.

SMM data showed that HRC stocks across social warehouses and steelmakers decreased 3.16% in the week ended June 11 to 3.59 million mt, marking the 13th straight week of declines.

China’s production of NPI increased in May after five consecutive months of decline since November 2019, driven by the resumption and ramping-up production at major producers of high-grade NPI. SMM data showed that China’s NPI output rose 15.15% on the month to 44,200 mt in Ni content in May. On a yearly basis, the NPI output was 7.49% lower in May. 

Crude steel output across major mills in China averaged 2.09 million mt per day in the last 11 days of May, up 0.58% from the level seen in the second 10 days of the same month and nearing the record high of 2.11 million mt notched in mid-September 2019, according to data from the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) released Wednesday.

Crude steel output across major mills in China averaged 2.08 million mt per day in the second 10 days of May, marking the second highest on record, according to data from the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) released Friday.