The new assessment will be for HBI with 90-94% Fe total, 83-90% Fe metallic and 92-96% metallization.
Market sources expect China to be a regular importer of HBI due to its evolving steel industry and its goal of increasing the share of electric arc furnaces (EAFs) in steel making to reduce China’s high dependence on iron ore and decrease carbon emissions in the steel making processes.
From January to December 2020, China imported approximately 3.4 million tonnes of HBI, a 152% increase compared to 2019. In 2019, China imported 1.4 million tonnes of HBI. In the first five months of 2021, China imported 0.97 million tonnes of HBI.
HBI is used in combination with scrap or as an alternative to scrap. It allows the use of less costly, lower grades of scrap to make basic grades of steel products because of its low impurities.
The proposed specifications for the price assessment are as follows:
Hot-briquetted iron import, cfr China, $/tonne
Quality: 90-94% Fe total, 83-90% Fe Metallic, 92-96% Metallization
Size: 30x50x110 mm
Quantity: Minimum 50,000 tonnes
Location: cfr main ports China
Timing: 6-12 weeks
Unit: $/tonne
Payment terms: Letter of credit on sight
Publication: Weekly, Friday by 6pm Shanghai time
The consultation period for the proposed price assessment starts on Friday June 25 and will end on Monday July 26. The proposed changes, subject to market feedback, will be implemented on July 29.
To provide feedback on this price or if you would like to provide price information by becoming a data submitter to any of these prices, please contact Tianran Zhao by email at: pricing@fastmarkets.com. Please add the subject heading “FAO: Tianran Zhao, re: China HBI Prices.”
To see all of Fastmarkets’ pricing methodology and specification documents, please go to www.metalbulletin.com/prices/pricing-methodology.html.