Jiangsu-based Shagang Group, China’s largest private steelmaker, has announced that as of February 27 it has cut its scrap purchase prices by RMB 30/mt ($4.3/mt), signaling its bearish view of the future prospects for the scrap market due to the outbreak of the coronavirus.
In February, the producer was forced to temporarily halt three electric arc furnaces and announced that it expected its steel production to decline by nine percent in February and by five percent in the January-March period. Lower finished steel demand, high costs and problems with transportation are the main reasons behind its reduction of crude steel production and its scrap purchase price adjustments.