China’s daily crude steel output climbs further in late April

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Member mills of the China Iron & Steel Assn (Cisa) produced crude steel at an average rate of 1.79 million tpd during the last ten days of April, up 3.9% from the preceding period, according to data released by the industry body on Monday May 11.

Cisa member mills, which are mainly medium-sized and large steelmakers, account for roughly 80% of the country’s total steel output.

The further increase in output was within expectations, as mills continued to be encouraged to speed up production by the uptrend in the steel market, participants said.

For instance, eastern Chinese hot rolled coil prices were at 2,440-2,460 yuan ($399-402) per tonne on April 30, up 100-120 yuan ($16-20) per tonne from April 20, according to Steel First price archive.

As at April 30, Cisa member mills had a total of 14.96 million tonnes of finished steel in their inventory, down 10.3% from April 20 levels, Cisa data showed.