China hot-rolled coil, plate output to hold stable in April despite coronavirus shock to demand

SHANGHAI, Apr 10 (SMM) – China’s output of hot-rolled coils and plates is unlikely to see another sharp decline this month, as new maintenance, new production cuts and switch to longs will be largely offset by recovery from maintenance and cold-rolled production curtailments.

An SMM survey showed that 35 steelmakers in China plan to produce 9.03 million mt of hot-rolled coils and plates in April, down 0.2% from the realised output of 9.03 million mt in March.

The output in March dropped nearly 7% from February, as steel mills conducted maintenance amid high inventories, thin profits and sluggish demand.

About 622,000 mt of April’s planned production would be exported, slightly up from 611,000 mt of exports in March.

The mild changes in overall production and exports come just as efforts to stop the spread of the coronavirus pandemic have dealt a heavy blow to world demand and that forces global suppliers to lower their quotes.  

Stable domestic production, coronavirus-related hit to foreign demand and potential influx of cheap imported materials are expected to prevent a sustained rally in prices of hot-rolled coils and plates in China, where inventories have yet to fall off record highs.