China stainless steel output dropped 13% YoY in March

SHANGHAI, Apr 9 (SMM) – China’s production of stainless steel in March dropped 13.2% from a year ago, showed SMM data, amid the coronavirus pandemic.

About 2.03 million mt of stainless steel was produced in China last month, up 13.1% from February when mills held back from ramping up production as strict virus containment measures remained in place.

300-series accounted for 1.01 million mt, up 5.8% month on month but down 12.41% year on year. Production of 200-series increased 32.7% to 656,800 mt, to create a year-over-year decline of 17.77%, while that of 400-series gained 5.2% to 372,000 mt, some 2.3% lower than the same month of 2019.

Overall stainless steel output in China is expected to continue to grow in April, as mills plan to produce 2.16 million mt for the month, increasing 6.6% from realised output March. Some mills said that their actual production will depend on demand and they may slightly trim output later in the month.

China’s stainless steel market is expected to remain weak in the near term, as demand has yet to improve substantially and inventories stay high. Efforts to stop the spread of the pandemic outside China, meanwhile, will hit the export sector, and a foreign demand slump is set to widen supply surplus in China.