According to a new report issued by the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA), in the January-July period this year China’s crude steel output totaled 466.52 million mt, down 0.5 percent year on year, while China’s apparent consumption of crude steel in the period in question amounted to 404.44 million mt, decreasing by 1.9 percent year on year, reflecting the ongoing oversupply in the domestic market.
As of August 12 this year, the import iron ore price was at $59.63/mt, rising by 19.36 percent compared to the end of May, while the composite steel price index (CSPI) for the Chinese domestic market only increased by 6.23 percent, exerting negative pressure on the margins of steel producers.
Meanwhile, there is an increasing number of antidumping (AD) investigations against China’s steel exports, which will exert negative pressure on the domestic finished steel market from the supply side, though China is now stepping up its efforts to eliminate excess capacity. It is thought that finished steel prices in China will likely indicate some slight fluctuations in the coming period, as stated by the CISA.