Ningbo's HRC Inventory Rises Slightly, Lunar Year-on-Year Decline Continues

HRC futures dipped before rebounding today, with the most-traded contract closing at 3,282, up 0.06% WoW. Spot market side, market quotations showed mixed performance, overall trading was relatively lackluster, though transactions at lower prices were moderate. In terms of supply, the impact from maintenance on hot-rolled production was 106,400 mt this week, down 88,800 mt WoW, while next week's hot-rolled maintenance impact is expected to be 11.7 mt, an increase of 10,600 mt WoW, with overall supply still on an increasing trajectory. Demand side, end-user purchase enthusiasm was unlikely to exceed expectations, with most purchases made on an as-needed basis at lower prices. Inventory side, mainstream city inventory data was released today, with varied performance across markets....

The Indian Ministry of Steel has scheduled the "Bharat Steel 2026" conference for April 16-17, 2026, aimed at finalizing an actionable roadmap to reach a national crude steel capacity of 300 million tonnes per annum (MTPA). Key focus areas include raw material security, domestic iron ore supply chain optimization, and the integration of green hydrogen into steelmaking. The event will also feature roundtables on enhancing technology cooperation with Russia and Brazil to ensure stable imports of high-grade ores, directly impacting the strategic positioning of India in the global seaborne iron ore trade.

South Korean steelmaker POSCO has announced it will begin trial operations of a new pilot plant in July 2026 that utilizes molten phase processing to produce steel directly from iron ore. This revolutionary technology aims to bypass the traditional sintering and pelletizing stages, potentially reducing carbon emissions by 50% compared to traditional blast furnace routes. The success of this trial would allow POSCO to utilize a broader range of domestic and imported low-grade iron ores that were previously unsuitable for high-efficiency steelmaking, significantly impacting global raw material demand patterns.