China stainless steel production declined 2.7% in Oct

SHANGHAI, Nov 12 (SMM) – Production of stainless steel in China shrank in October for a second straight month, decreasing 2.67% from September to 2.41 million mt, showed an SMM survey.

On a yearly basis, the production rose 4.29% last month.

300-series accounted for 1.16 million mt, up 2.73% from a month ago as mills recovered from maintenance, while production of 400-series grew 6.31% to 443,000 mt.

Production of 200-series stainless steel in China, however, dropped 13.84% to 772,000 mt last month, as heavy losses prompted mills to curtail or even suspend production.

China’s stainless steel production is expected to rebound 0.79% to 2.43 million mt in November, with a year-over-year increase of 8.2%.

This will be driven by 200-series, which are likely to see production recovering 5.18% to 812,000 mt.

Production of 300-series stainless steel is estimated to shrink 1.52% to 1.15 million mt, while that of 400-series is expected to slip 0.68% to 440,000 mt.