China's steel output cuts widen in mid-July; price rise seen limited

Due to newly planned blast furnace maintenance works mostly happening in eastern and northern China, daily pig iron output is likely to decline further over July 15-31 by at least 40,000 mt/day, according to S&P Global's calculations based on data from market sources.

As mills undertook output cuts, domestic sales profit margin of rebar fell from minus $27/mt to minus $62/mt over July 8-15, and hot-rolled coil from minus $37/mt to minus $102/mt, S&P Global data showed.

According to the China & Steel Association, China's daily pig iron output in July 1-10 fell 3.3% from June to 2.478 million mt. This means daily output for the rest of July could be reduced further by maximum 2.438 million mt. However, this level will still be higher than 2.35 million mt in July 2021.