Blast Furnaces under Intensive Maintenance amid Steeply Falling Steel Prices

SHANGHAI, Jun 23 (SMM) - The blast furnace operating rates fell sharply this week, mainly due to the plunge in steel prices, with steel mills’ losses once expanding to 400-800 yuan/mt. Meanwhile, market panic led to sales difficulties, hence many steel mills across the country have begun to reduce the production for overhaul, according to SMM statistics.

Starting from June 16, a total of 20 blast furnace newly started maintenance, most of which are located in north China. In addition, recent rainfall and flooding in many places also led to several steel mills being flooded and forced to suspend or reduce the production. For details of steel mill maintenance plans, please refer to the tables below.

Looking ahead, with falling prices of coke and steel scrap and stabilizing prices of finished products, the profits of steel mills are likely to be restored to some extent. However, due to sluggish demand for finished products, the profitability of steel mills is unlikely to enhance significantly. Therefore, blast furnace operating rates are likely to remain unchanged or drop slightly in the following week.