[SMM Blast Furnace Operating Rate] End-user demand is moderate, and the blast furnace operating rate slightly increased

According to the SMM survey, on June 5, the operating rate of blast furnaces was 93.91%, up 0.3% WoW. The capacity utilization rate of blast furnaces was 95.43%, up 0.19% WoW. The average daily pig iron output of sample steel mills was 2.2821 million mt, up 4,500 mt WoW.

Figure 1: Blast Furnace Operating Rate & Capacity Utilization Rate

During this cycle, two blast furnaces were under maintenance, and four blast furnaces resumed production, mainly concentrated in North-east China and North China. Pig iron output continues to show an upward trend. Recently, end-user demand has been moderate, and steel inventory continued to decline. Steel mills' production enthusiasm was also moderate.

Looking ahead to next week, considering that steel mills' profits continued to be under pressure and with the arrival of hot weather, whether steel consumption can remain strong still needs to be observed. According to SMM's current tracking, some steel mills formulated corresponding maintenance plans for their blast furnaces, and there is a possibility of a decline in pig iron output.