SHANGHAI, Dec 29 (SMM) – The operating rates across 34 EAF mills of construction steel stood at 54.58% as of December 28, a gain of 0.68 percentage point from the previous week.
In south-west China, some steel mills resumed production from maintenance as the availability of steel scrap improved. However, profits are not very optimistic. The operating rates increased slightly by 6 percentage points to 56%. The operating rates in south China fell slightly this week. Local steel scrap purchase prices are relatively high, and several steel mills have already suffered losses. They may reduce production. At present, most of them maintain stable operating rates and implement staggered production, and the operating rates decreased by 2 percentage points to 69% from the previous week. The prices of finished products in east China dropped sharply this week, and the profits contracted again. The operating rates dropped slightly by 2 percentage points to 62%. The operating rates in central China remained flat at 49%.
The average price of rebar stood at 4,705 yuan/mt as of December 28, down 115 yuan/mt from December 21.
The prices of scrap and finished products have both declined this week, and the decline of finished products is greater than that of scrap. Most EAF mills stood at the breakeven point. Some mills have suffered losses. The losses at the mainstream EAF mills in east China recorded 116.9 yuan/mt, down 111 yuan/mt from December 21.
