In August, China produced 14.29 million mt of HRC, down by just 1.8 percent month on month.
After the sharp drop of 10.1 percent on monthly basis in July this signaled about more or less firm situation in the market, as demand for flats was not as reduced as those for longs. In a yearly comparison, HRC output continued to post drop – by 10.4 percent in August.
In the January-August period this year, China’s hot rolled coil (HRC) production amounted to 123.58 million mt, up 10.6 percent year on year, which was 3.5 percentage points slower than the increase rate in January-July.
Average local HRC prices in China moved on a downtrend in August but the difference between the highest and the lowest prices was not much above 3 percent amid the ups and downs in HRC futures prices in the given period.
Cold rolled coil (CRC) output in China in the first eight months of the current year reached 28.85 million mt, up by 16.2 percent year on year, which was 2.2 percentage points slower than the growth recorded in the first seven months this year.