Blast furnaces utilization in China increased to 88.55%

Blast furnace utilization rates among 247 steel mills in China, according to a regular survey by Mysteel, rose during the second week of July 9-15, increasing another 2.55 percentage points in a week to 88.55%, as some steel mills in Northern and East China increased. after steel profitability improved.

During the reporting period, these 247 steel mills produced an average of 2.36 million tonnes of molten iron per day, an increase of 67,800 tonnes per day over a week.

The recent rebound in finished steel prices in China has boosted the profitability of domestic steel companies, prompting more factories to continue production, the study shows.

For example, the national price of 20mm HRB400E rebar was estimated by Mysteel at 5,267 yuan per tonne ($ 816 per tonne), including 13% VAT as of July 15, which is 177 yuan per tonne more than in a week, and is the most high since May 24. Consequently, according to a Mysteel estimate, BF's rebar gross profit recovered to RMB220 /t, up from RMB28 /t in the previous week.

On the other hand, the productivity of their blast furnaces dropped sharply after a week of gains, dropping a slight 1.56 percentage points over the week to 76.69% in the most recent study period.

“Last week we did observe that some blast furnaces, especially some of the smaller ones, were shut down for maintenance, so the drop in overall performance is understandable,” said a Shanghai-based analyst.

By July 15, stocks of imported iron ore in all forms, including volumes at steel mills, port warehouses and in the water at these 247 plants, also rose by another 534,200 tonnes over the week to 114.8 million tonnes in the second week, daily consumption also increased.

In the same smaller-scale period, a study of 163 steel mills across China found that their blast furnace utilization rates showed a different trend, dropping 0.74 percentage points over the week to 70.56%.