Operating Rates of Blast Furnaces Down 0.91% on Week

SHANGHAI, Sep 15 (SMM) — Operating rates of blast furnaces at steel mills fell 0.91 percentage point on the week and 0.65 percentage point from a month ago to 80.25% as of September 15, SMM survey showed.

The operating rates continued to decline this week, due to the expanded maintenance of blast furnaces in east China. The operating rates of blast furnaces are expected to keep fluctuating at low levels amid the stricter production restrictions in Jiangsu, Yunnan, and other regions.

According to the data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, China's crude steel output from January to August totalled 733.02 million mt, an increase of 44.13 million mt or 5.3% year on year.

Supply is expected to tighten further in Q4 2021 under the recent production restriction policies.

The overall macroeconomic data declined compared to the previous month in August, and the steel demand from important downstream industries such as real estate and automobiles declined.

Steel demand is limited in the short term due to the pandemic in Fujian and Typhoon Chanthu, and the prices fluctuated. However, steel prices are expected to keep rising amid strict production restrictions after the impact of pandemic and weather is lifted, and downstream demand rebounds.