SHANGHAI, Jun 11 (SMM) — Operating rates of blast furnaces at steel mills rose 1.2 percentage points from a week ago and increased 0.4 percentage point from a month ago to 87.2% as of June 10, SMM survey showed. Profit of steel mills declined in June but it did not affect production. Maintenance increased in small scale. The rumors of production restriction did not come true. Operating rates of blast furnaces across Chinese steelmakers rebounded.
Vale suspended iron ore mining, affecting its production capacity of 33,000 mt per day. This news drove prices of raw materials to rise. The policy end was relatively calm recently in China, and the intervention of high-level leaders in the market decreased compared with the previous period, while the main tone of stabilising prices and ensuring supply remained unchanged. On fundamentals, the pre-holiday restocking demand is expected to drive prices up. It is still a pattern of weak supply and demand in the medium and long term.
Steel prices are still in a rebound period at present, and prices are under upward pressure and downward pressure. Steel mill profits and steel prices are still in a reasonable position. SMM expects that steel price fluctuations will narrow in the near term.
Operating rates of blast furnaces at Chinese steelmakers
