company news about China's steel prices are soaring, and some companies have suspended production

China's steel prices are soaring, and some companies have suspended production
2021-05-24 08:56:39 [Source: Anti-Corruption and Clean Government Monthly]

The price of China's steel raw materials has risen sharply recently. The price of steel products in various regions broke through the high level of more than a decade in May, approaching RMB 6,000 per ton of billet. At the same time, some companies simply suspend production for holidays because they cannot buy high-quality Australian iron ore.

▲The picture shows a worker at a steel plant in Ganyu, Jiangsu, monitoring and inspecting the steel production process. (Image source: AFP)

Since March of this year, the market prices of steel and other metal materials have continued to rise, causing the prices of household appliances such as televisions, air conditioners and washing machines to rise. And a new wave of price hikes is coming recently. On May 19, according to the 21st Century Business Herald’s publication, due to the rise in upstream steel prices, the product prices of Shandong Linyi Sanwei Precision Casting Co., Ltd. will also be raised by 5%.

Entering May, China's steel market continued to rise, with steel prices approaching RMB 6,000 per ton. The price of steel has broken through the previous high in 2008 and hit a record high.

On May 20, Tangshan Iron and Steel Group engineer Mr. Huang said in an interview with reporters that the increase in steel prices is closely related to the high demand and the rise in iron ore prices in the international market: “It must be a problem of high iron ore prices. The best ore quality is Australia, and Brazil’s iron ore quality is not good. We have used Brazil’s iron ore, and the countries next to Brazil also sell iron ore, but the quality is not good and the price is relatively good. expensive."

▲【China's high-quality iron ore supply is tight. Under the skyrocketing cost, some builders have mixed "iron branches" made of other materials into the iron branches of the main pillars of the building, and workers can twist them with one hand... .....】

In the past ten days, China's black bulk commodities represented by iron ore have set multiple historical extremes. On May 10, the main iron ore futures contract reached a maximum of 1,346 yuan per ton; the main coking coal contract reached a maximum of 2,068 yuan per ton, an increase of 6%; the rebar opened straight to the daily limit, reaching 6,208 yuan per ton. The above prices are all refreshing historical records.

China's high-quality iron ore is highly dependent on imports

Financial scholars believe that the surge in Chinese steel prices is subject to the price of imported iron ore: "This round of Chinese steel price increases is a continuation of the price trend of last summer. The price increase of steel is often inertial, but the more important reason is actually iron. The supply of ore is in short supply, and most of China's high-quality iron ore relies on imports."