Chinese steel mills' loss from the sale of rolling products

Chinese steelmakers' blast furnaces suffered a loss in sales of rolled products in July. The unfavorable atmosphere in the domestic market led to a sharp drop in steel prices. According to My Steel reports, the average loss from rebar sales by Chinese steel mills in July was $35 per ton. This was $21 per ton higher than in June this year. Meanwhile, mills lost an average of $21 per tonne on hot plate sales in July, compared to about $3 per tonne in the previous month.

According to the reports, end-consumer demand has been low due to the summer recession, while high temperatures and frequent rains in most parts of China have affected many sectors such as construction. Meanwhile, Chinese steel mills' production costs fell slightly last month but failed to boost their profitability.

It is worth noting that China's steel output fell by 2.2% to 613.72 million tons from January to July 2024. In July, the country's steel output fell by 9.5% from June to 82.94 million tons due to lower demand and a decline in steelmakers' profit margins.