On August 9, the authorities in Tangshan, a major steelmaking hub in China’s Hebei Province, issued a notice for 35 independent local steel rolling companies, detailing production control requirements for the period from August 16 until September 3 due to the approach of the military parade on September to commemorate the 80th Anniversary of the Victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. In particular, from August 16 to 25, independent steel rolling mills in Tangshan will be required to halt production at any time, depending on weather conditions. From August 25 to September 3, the mills in question will have to suspend production mandatorily.
These measures are stricter than those announced in Tangshan for July 4-15, when Tangshan aimed to limit the production of sintering machines by not less than 30 percent of full capacity.
As a result of the measures for the period from August 16 until early September, daily steel production in the region is expected to drop by 90,000 mt, Molten iron production in July during restrictions had dropped by 31,000 mt daily.
Average billet and rebar prices in the local Chinese market have increased by RMB 25/mt and RMB 20/mt, respectively, since last Friday, to RMB 3,125/mt ex-warehouse and RMB 3,347/mt ex-warehouse, according to SteelOrbis’ data.
