News Update

December saw steel scrap utilization in crude steel produced by the 211 Chinese steel mills Mysteel regularly samples edge down further on month, dipping by another 1.14 percentage points, new data show, to average 22.73%. This was also significantly lower than last year's high, reached in May, of 27.13%, Mysteel Global notes. The survey canvasses integrated and electric-arc-furnace (EAF) producers, as well as those mills using both blast-furnace (BF) and EAF technologies, and the fall last month was attributed to the decrease in usage among EAF mills. As of end-December, these 211 surveyed mills held 6.82 million tonnes of steel scrap in inventory,

China's imported iron ore prices continued to climb on January 5, supported by the lift in inquiries among the country's end-users during the day. On Wednesday, Mysteel PORTDEX 62% Australian Fines in Qingdao rose Yuan 2/wmt ($0.3/wmt) on day to Yuan 819/wmt FOT and including the 13% VAT. The same day, Mysteel SEADEX 62% Australian Fines increased too by $1.75/dmt on day to $124.35/dmt CFR Qingdao. Traders at Chinese portside markets were active in iron

Over December 27-31, Chinese steel prices including rebar and hot-rolled coil (HRC) retreated both in the spot and futures markets, largely due to the softening domestic demand and slower destocking pace, Mysteel Global noted. Rebar: By December 31, China's national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar under Mysteel's assessment had fallen for the second week by Yuan 117/tonne ($18.4/t) to reach a one-month low of Yuan 4,726/t including the 13% VAT. Last week, the spot trading volume of construction steel including rebar, wire rod