In June this year, China’s hot rolled coil (HRC) production amounted to 14.181 million mt, up 3.7 percent year on year, which was 2.4 percentage points slower than the increase rate in May.
Cold rolled coil (CRC) output in China in June reached 3.147 million mt, up by 10.1 percent year on year, shifting from a year-on-year drop of 0.8 percent in May.
In the January-June period of this year, China’s HRC production rose by 7.2 percent year on year to 80.063 million mt. Average local HRC prices in China had increased by 3.9 percent as of June 30 compared to May 31, according to the SteelOrbis data. CRC production fell by 0.3 percent year on year to 16.627 million mt in the January-June period of the current year.
Demand for HRC and CRC was quite good in the local market in June. According to the data issued by the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA), as of June 30 China’s HRC and CRC inventories amounted to 1.67 million mt and 1.25 million mt, respectively, down 1.7 percent and 3.5 percent compared to June 20.