China’s NDRC warns high steel margins mean meeting 2018 capacity cuts not “easy”

China cut 80 million tonnes of coal production capacity and 24.7 million tonnes of steel capacity from January to July 2018, an official from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said at a briefing on Thursday.

The state economic planning agency said in March it aimed to reduce coal capacity by around 150 million tonnes and steel capacity by around 30 million tonnes for the whole of 2018.

The state planner warned that China is facing “significant pressure” of outdated steel capacity being revived as industry profits surge.

It also said completing steel capacity cut target is “not an easy task”.

According to industrial analysts, profit margins at Chinese steel mills are at 1,100 yuan ($159.13) a tonne, near the record levels of last December

Source: REUTERS