Chinese steel traders were holding off their usual post-holiday purchases in mid-February as the coronavirus outbreak slowed construction and transport across the country. With building sites quiet and many provinces restricting road haulage, traders saw little reason to rebuild stocks they already held. Inventories held by traders reached 16.33 million tonnes on 6 February, the highest level since March 2019, according to consultancy Mysteel. Benchmark rebar futures in Shanghai had fallen nearly 10 percent between 20 January and 3 February. Blast furnace utilisation at 247 mills slipped to 77.76 percent in the week to 7 February, down from 80.01 percent before the holiday and the lowest since early November. Hunan Valin Steel said it would consider cutting output if conditions required it. Analysts expected mills to trim production as falling prices squeezed profits, while the China Iron and Steel Association described the outlook for the first quarter as not promising.
Source: SEAISI (Reuters) — https://www.seaisi.org/details/169?type=news-rooms
Photo: Wikimedia Commons (freely licensed).