Average Operating Rate of Blast Furnaces at Steel Mills Rose 0.6 Percentage Point From A Week Ago

SHANGHAI, Apr 11 (SMM) - The average operating rate of blast furnaces at steel mills rose 0.6 percentage point from a week ago to 94.65% as of April 5, SMM survey showed. The capacity utilisation rate rose 0.65 percentage point from a week ago to 95.67%. The daily average pig iron production of sample steel mills was 2.29 million mt, up 15,500 mt from a week ago.

Operating rates across 34 EAF mills that mainly produce construction steel in China stood at 55.18% as of April 4, down 4.32 percentage points compared with the previous week. The capacity utilisation rate fell 5.12 percentage points to 57.06%. The daily rebar output fell 9,100 mt to 101,600 mt. During the survey period, the prices of finished steel fell sharply due to the poor market sales, and the falling profits forced down the operating rates of EAF-based steel mills in east China and south China by 4.32 percentage points to 55.18%. Given the weak market sentiment, weak macro front and the shortage of steel scrap caused by rainy weather, finished steel prices are expected to fall more significantly than the scrap prices. As such, the falling finished steel prices and the poor profits may encourage steel mills to slightly lower their blast furnace operating rates.