MOC: Chinese steel prices rise for second consecutive week

China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) has stated that, due to higher iron ore prices, mills' announcements of price increases and reduced market inventory, in the week ending July 24 domestic steel prices in China rose by 0.4 percent compared to the prior week, rising for the second consecutive.
 
During the given week, the prices of 6.5 mm wire rod and 12 mm rebar in China rose respectively by 0.9 percent and 0.5 percent week on week.
 
Meanwhile, iron ore prices in China in the week in question rose by 1.5 percent as compared to the previous week. The drop of steel production in China has contributed to the steel price uptrend in the past few weeks. Based on statistics from the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA), the average daily crude steel output of its member enterprises in early July (July 1-10) was 1.63 million mt, down 3.8 percent compared to late June (June 21-30).