A worker works at a workshop of a factory of Baoshan Iron & Steel Co., Ltd (Baosteel) in Baoshan District in Shanghai, east China, Feb. 21, 2020. (Xinhua/Ding Ting)
BEIJING, June 11 (Xinhua) -- China is estimated to have produced 98.08 million metric tons (tonnes) of crude steel in May, a year-on-year increase of 6.3 percent, according to the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA).
The country's output of pig iron in May was 77.27 million tonnes, a year-on-year decrease of 0.1 percent, while domestic output of steel products in the month amounted to 122.69 million tonnes, a year-on-year increase of 7.1 percent.
In May, the domestic steel prices showed an inverted V-shape. Specifically, in mid-May, China steel price index (CSPI) compiled by the CISA rose to 174.81 points, hitting a record high, and then quickly fell back. By the end of May, the CSPI was 144.07 points, a 3.2-percent decrease from that at the end of April, and down 17.6 percent from the highest level.
In terms of the steel trade, the country exported 5.27 million tonnes of steel products in May, a year-on-year increase of 19.8 percent and a month-on-month decrease of 33.9 percent. A total of 30.92 million tonnes of steel products were exported from January to May, a year-on-year increase of 23.7 percent, according to the General Administration of Customs (GAC).
The country imported 1.21 million tonnes of steel products, a year-on-year decrease of 5.8 percent and a month-on-month increase of 2.7 percent. In the first five months of the year, China imported a total of 6.1 million tonnes of steel products, up 11.6 percent year-on-year, said GAC.
The CISA data showed that in mid-May, the country's imported iron ore price rose to 230.6 U.S. dollars/tonne, hitting a record high, then fell to 180.7 U.S. dollars/tonne, and rebounded again. By June 9, imported iron ore price rebounded to 210.3 U.S. dollars/tonne, and the price is still at a high level.
It is worth noting that the domestic steel inventory is at a normal level. The CISA data showed that in late May, the domestic steel stocks of key steel stills monitored by the CISA amounted to 13.41 million tonnes, up 0.9 percent year-on-year and down 0.1 percent from the end of April. The inventories of five major types of steel products in 20 cities stood at 10.98 million tonnes, a decline of 16.3 percent from the same period last year, and also down 14.7 percent from the end of April. (Edited by Hu Pingchao with Xinhua Silk Road, hupingchao@xinhua.org)
A single purchase
