Demand continues to be weak The steel price index hit a new low during the year

The end of the year is usually the off-season of the steel market, and this winter is particularly cold this winter. According to data from the China Iron and Steel Association, the growth rate of the main steel industry continued to slow in October, steel demand in the domestic market weakened significantly, steel prices fell sharply, and the steel price index hit a new low during the year. At the same time, the price of imported iron ore that had been “fallen” began to show signs of stabilizing.

Steel Index hits a new low during the year

Data show that at the end of October, the CSPI steel comprehensive price index of the China Iron and Steel Association was 122.72 points, a decrease of 9.58 points, a decrease of 7.24%, and the steel price index fell to the lowest point this year.

The prices of the eight steel products monitored by the China Steel Association fell in a month-on-month ratio in October, and the declines all increased compared with the previous month. In the long products, the declines of high wire, rebar, and angle steel were 9.66%, 10.60%, and 4.64%, respectively; the decreases in plate, hot coil, cold rolled sheet, and galvanized sheet were 8.12%, 8.67%, 3.40%, and 3.12, respectively. %; hot rolled seamless tube prices fell by 2.29%.

In October, the price of steel fell from week to week, and the decline gradually increased. In November, steel prices stabilized in the first week and fell again in the second week. Due to the decrease in demand and the sharp drop in steel prices, many companies have taken measures such as overhauls and production cuts, which have correspondingly reduced the supply of resources to the market. In October, China's crude steel output was 54.673 million tons, with an average daily production of 1.763 million tons, a decrease of 126,400 tons, which was 8.42% lower than the average daily production of 1,925,800 tons in the first nine months of the year. The situation of oversupply in the steel market has eased. .

The CISA personnel pointed out that the growth rate of the manufacturing industry continued to slow down, and the demand for steel products was not high enough to make steel prices fall sharply. After entering the off-season consumption, steel demand will continue to show a downward trend.

Imported iron ore prices stop falling

According to customs statistics, the average landed price of imported iron ore in China in October was $175.54 per ton, which was a decrease of $0.38/ton from the previous period, and was the first decline since April this year, a drop of 0.22% from the previous month.

The price drop of iron ore in October significantly exceeded the price of steel and other raw materials. Data show that at the end of October, CSPI's domestic steel price index fell by 8.38%, while the domestic iron ore spot price and domestic iron concentrate price in the domestic market decreased by 14.14% and 19.77%, respectively, which was significantly higher than the decline in steel prices; The prices of coke and scrap also fell 6.26% and 5.74% from the previous month, while coking coal increased slightly by 1.47%.

After entering November, the price of imported ore continued to fall, but the decline has slowed down and even showed signs of a rebound. From November 7 to November 11, the average CIF price of imported iron ore was US$130.64/ton, which was US$8.87/ton lower than the equivalent of iron ore, equivalent to the tax-inclusive price of RMB 967.80/ton, a drop of RMB 63.19 per ton. . It is worth noting that after undergoing continuous adjustments, the prices of imported iron ore began to show signs of stabilizing. Data show that on November 16 MBIO price index was 145.67 US dollars / ton, up 4.63 US dollars / ton from the previous day, an increase of 3.3%.

China Steel Association personnel pointed out that the domestic spot price of imported iron ore continued to decline from September to October, showing signs of a rebound in November. Iron and steel enterprises should pay close attention to changes in the raw material market and continue to increase costs and efficiency.