CISA updates on Chinese steel

27 November 2017

As per China Iron & Steel Association (CISA), China’s major mills (its members) raised their crude steel output rates slightly in early November, but finished steel inventories continued to drop. Member mills of CISA produced crude steel at an average rate of 1.8017 million tonnes per day during the first 10 days of November, up 12,200 tonnes per day or 0.7%, compared to the last 11 days of October.

China’s steel prices will continue to firm up in 2018 as production and supply are becoming more balanced, according to a senior official at the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA). Prices are rising in 2017 due to government’s effort to close small mills that churn out low-quality steel made from scrap metal. As a result, a batch of money-losing steel producers begin to make profit thus firming up the prices.