Australia launches Anti-Dumping Investigation into Taiwanese Steel Flat Bar

On July 23 China's steel exports edged higher. Plate/HRC export prices rose USD 1-2/tonne day on day, with HRC deals at 487-492 USD/tonne; yet with domestic futures up, traders reported deals lagging recent days and mills' order-taking also below expectations. Export billet FOB nudged up USD 1-2 to 458-460 USD/tonne at Jiangyin — hit by a Middle-East shipping-security incident and a marked drop in traffic through the relevant strait that lifted freight and insurance costs, billet seaborne trade came under pressure and actual deals still required price concessions. Rebar export edged up day on day though the afternoon futures fell and offers loosened slightly; inquiries were flat amid continued wait-and-see, with a few East-China mills quoting British-standard rebar at 482-483 USD/tonne (ex-Jiangyin).

Today, the DCE iron ore futures moved strongly today. The most-traded DCE I2609 contract closed at 747.5 yuan/mt, up 0.74%. Spot prices at Qingdao Port rose roughly 5-8 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Trader activity was moderate, and inquiries from steel mills were limited. Spot trading was poor.

With the help of Primetal Technologies, WISCO will change the CSP casting and rolling line into a conventional hot strip mill (HSM). The HSM will use casters that produce 230-mm slabs and reheated by two new walking beam furnaces with level 1 & 2 automation plus advanced process control models. This will make the capacity of HSM in WISCO around 4.2 million metric tons annually