Steel mills in regions such as Inner Mongolia in northern China, Shandong and Jiangsu in eastern China, and Fujian in southeastern China were forced to slow down or even shut down at the end of September due to electricity rationing at energy-intensive plants.
Capacity utilization for iron and steel production in China also dropped significantly between September 24-30, according to a Msyteel study. At 71 plants in EAF, the steelmaking capacity utilization rate fell to a seven-month low of 44.13%, or 9.34 percentage points over the week.
For the entire September, daily steel production at 318 mills reached a new low since April 2020, according to Mysteel, averaging 2.71 million tonnes / day, or 203,400 tonnes / day, or 7% compared to the previous month.
However, over the last decade of September, spot trading in construction steel, including rebar, wire rod and reel, among 237 trading houses in China tracked by Mysteel, increased 21,238 tonnes / day, or 10.6% in ten days, to 221,849 tonnes. / d on average as some traders and end users increased their sales ahead of the long national holiday of October 1-7.
The decline in production amid improved demand resulted in the national price of HRB400E 20mm diameter rebar, as estimated by Mysteel, peaked from May 17th to September 30th, reaching RMB 5925 / t ($ 920 / t), including 13% VAT. or 257 yuan per ton. from 18 September.
