China’s crude steel output down 0.36% in early July

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The national daily crude steel output eased by 0.36% to 1.958 million tonnes in the first 10 days of the month, an estimate by the China Iron & Steel Assn (Cisa) showed.

“But the decrease is too small to be of any support to the market,” a trader in Shanghai said.

Traders and stockists are hoping to see more output reduction in coming weeks so that steel prices could stop falling, he added.

“Most Chinese producers are still reluctant to cut output by large amounts as their losses are not high enough to warrant them yet,” a sales official with Jinxi Steel said

They will only do so once they lose more than 300 yuan ($48) per tonne. Chinese mills are currently losing an average of 150-200 yuan per tonne, he said.

Cisa statistics also showed that crude steel output for the year up until July 10 totalled 374.8 million tonnes, or an average of 1.95 million tpd.