By XinhuaNet| 2017-08-23 09:54:44

China's steel prices have begun to rise, but an industry group tried to calm the market Tuesday, saying the increase will be limited as new production capacity is set to ease supply.The steel price index climbed to this year's peak of 106.49 at the end of July, lifted by higher iron ore costs, improved demand as well as lower supply due to government policies to cut steel overcapacity and enhance environmental protection, China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) said on its website.The country's crude steel output rose 5.1 percent year on year to 492 million tonnes in the first seven months this year, while apparent consumption of crude steel increased 10.9 percent to 450 million tonnes, according to CISA data.Although production restrictions amid tighter enforcement of environmental rules during the winter heating season will cap supply in the coming months, expanding competitive capacity will help contain large price rises, the CISA said.China has been striving to close small mills that churn out low-quality steel made from scrap metal, this year, leading to decreased supply.The crackdown on the small low-end furnaces, accounting for 4 percent of total steel output, came as Beijing aims to cut excess capacity, tackle pollution and improve safety measures at these mills.Source: Xinhuanet

By PTI| 2017-08-21 09:37:31

NEW DELHI: Finished steel export jumped by 64.2 per cent to 0.770 million tonne (mt) in July compared to 0.469 mt in the same month last year, says a report. Import of finished steel also shot up by 42.2 per cent at 0.798 mt in July this year compared to 0.561 mt in the same month last year, the report said. "India was a net importer of total finished steel in July 2017 but maintained its net exporter status for the cumulative period, i.e. during April-July 2017," it said. During April-July 2017, export of total finished steel was up by 65.5 per cent at 2.807 mt compared to 1.696 mt during the same period of last fiscal, the report by Joint Plant Committee (JPC), which collects data on iron and steel industry in the country, said. Import of total finished steel at 2.505 MT in April-July 2017 was up by 4.7 per cent as compared to 2.393 MT in the year-ago period, it added. The consumption of total finished steel grew 3.7 per cent to 6.905 mt in July 2017 over 6.660 mt in July last year. However, the overall consumption was down 4.2 per cent in July as compared to 7.210 mt in June 2017, the report said. During April-July 2017, consumption of total finished steel in India rose by 4.4 per cent to 27.911 mt from 26.736 mt in the same period of last year, under the influence of rising production for sale and imports, the report said. Empowered by the Ministry of Steel, the JPC is the only institution in the country that collects data on the Indian iron and steel industry. India is third largest producer of crude steel after China and Japan. The country is now looking to grab the second spot. Source: www.economictimes.indiatimes.com

By Maytaal Angel and David Lawder| 2017-08-18 11:34:18

U.S. President Donald Trump is still expected to impose steel import tariffs on national security grounds despite the delay of a probe into the matter and pursuit of multilateral talks to reduce excess capacity, industry players and trade experts say.U.S. steel stocks .SPCOMSTEEL have fallen nearly 10 percent since Trump delayed the release of the so-called "Section 232" review of the U.S. steel industry last month, partly reflecting fears that his promises to protect the industry may not materialize.But industry analysts say the falls might be overdone, and there is reason to think that import relief may still happen."Based on (Commerce Secretary Wilbur) Ross's recent statements and our discussions with trade lawyers engaged in section 232, we still expect measures that will have a positive impact on U.S. steel prices," said Seth Rosenfeld, a steel industry analyst at Jefferies in London."The most likely outcome is tariff rate quotas where the level of tariff changes dependent on the volume of imports. This structure serves as something of an upside cap on steel pricing so they do not get out of control," Rosenfeld added.Trump launched the probe into whether steel imports compromise U.S. national security in April, boosting U.S. steel stocks, but said in July a final decision might have to wait until other top-priority issues are addressed.Ross said he would defer to Trump's lead and also cited multi-lateral talks to reduce excess capacity, fuelling concern in the steel industry that the "232" review, initially scheduled to conclude in late June, might be scrapped or substantially watered down.A Trump administration official told Reuters, however, that the steel probe remains active and "is still under the final stages of review within the administration".He declined to comment on the possible timing of its release. By law, Ross has until mid-January 2018 to conclude his review. Trump would then have 90 days to act."Our hope and expectation is that there would be action on (section 232) sooner, rather than going the full time," said Tom Gibson, president of the American Iron and Steel Institute.In a sign that some market players still anticipate a U.S. tariff move, steel import permit applications fell 12 percent in July from June, making up 28 percent of the market, according to U.S. Commerce Department data compiled by AISI.Trump's planned steel restrictions are mostly aimed at persuading China, producer of more than half the world's steel, to cut excess production capacity, but direct imports from China into the United State have already fallen dramatically due to previous anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties.Instead, critics say broad new steel restrictions would hit U.S. allies such as South Korea, Japan, Germany and Turkey much harder, prompting warnings of retaliation against unrelated U.S. products. Diplomats also say "232" duties risk undermining the global trading system if national security becomes an accepted excuse to erect trade barriers.Trump during his election campaign promised supporters in rust-belt states such as Pennsylvania and Ohio that he would restore steel and coal jobs.U.S.-based trade analysts say Trump may still turn to steel import restrictions because he can invoke them without congressional approval after suffering recent legislative setbacks"The healthcare bill went down, that's a big loss. What is Trump going to do to shore up his base? He sees tough action on trade as a political winner. I think he'll return to the matter before the end of the year," said Gary Hufbauer, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.The steel investigation has also been caught up in Trump's efforts to secure China's cooperation to impose sanctions on North Korea. Trump has promised easier trade terms to Beijing if China helps rein in North Korea's nuclear and missile testing.But on Monday, Trump was pressing ahead with a separate trade probe into China's intellectual property practices, a sign that the link between China trade and North Korea may be softening.Steel users in the United States who rely on cheap steel, oppose steel import restrictions, which they say would cost jobs in their industries. The U.S. steel sector employs 147,000 people while manufacturing and construction employs 12.8 million.Editing by Tom Miles in Geneva and David EvansSource: Reuters

By Fouad Egbaria| 2017-08-18 11:08:02

India’s protectionist measures to safeguard its steel industry seem to be paying off.As reported consistently by AG Metal Miner, the Indian government, responding to the call of its steelmakers, had time and again imposed various forms of anti-dumping measures and fines to stop cheap imports of steel — especially from the world’s steel manufacturing leader, China.Along with the U.S. and Brazil, India was said to be one of the world’s leading initiators of anti-dumping investigations, according to the World Trade Organization (WTO).Well, now, all this has resulted in India’s steel exports doubling to 8.2 million tons and imports have been slashed by about one-third in 2016-17.As per a report by the Press Trust of India (PTI), quoting from portions of the released Economic Survey, the rise in exports of steel could also wipe away the excess capacity built up in the steel sector. The mid-year survey by the government said steel imports had declined in 2016-17, while exports of steel had doubled.Alloy imports dipped by 36.6% to 7.4 million tons in 2016- 17 against 11.7 million tons in the previous fiscal year. Exports doubled to 8.2 million tons last fiscal year, over 4.1 million tons in the corresponding year.The news was welcomed by steel companies like Tata Steel. T.V. Narendran, managing director for Tata Steel India and South East Asia, told newsmen that steel demand in India was increasing, making it just right to make future investments. Stability was being witnessed in the steel sector globally, though it had faced some problem two years ago, Narendran told reporters.Ironically, much of Indian steel joy stems from its traditional rival China, where there’s been a visible improvement in the economy — which meant much of its steel being produced was once again being used within the country. It was against the backdrop of China’s economic slowdown that the global steel industry had faced distress due to decline in global demand.The Indian survey report said, in response to the dumping of cheap imports, the government in 2016 introduced a host of measures like raising Basic Customs Duty, imposition of Minimum Import Price (MIP) and anti-dumping duties in order to shield domestic producers. The government imposed the MIP for steel in February 2016 for a period of one year.On April 12, 2016, India initiated countervailing duty investigation concerning imports of certain hot-rolled and cold-rolled stainless steel flat products originating in China.According to the WTO, India’s share in total global steel exports increased from 1.1% in 2000 to 2.8% in 2016. During this period, China’s share in total steel exports rose from 3.7% in 2000 to 19.2% in 2016. Japan’s share in total steel exports in 2000 which was 12.2%, but fell to 9.1% in 2016.Meanwhile, the U.S. share in total steel imports was 17.0% in 2000, but has since come down to 12.1% in 2016.Source: agmetalminer.com

By timesofindia.indiatimes.com| 2017-08-16 10:00:01

Domestic crude steel production witnessed a 4.6 per cent increase at 8.45 million tonnes (MT) in July, according to official data.This is against the total output of 8.082 MT of crude steel in the same month a year ago."During April-July 2017, crude steel production was 33.011 MT, a growth of 3.8 per cent over the same period of the last year," the Joint Plant Committee (JPC), under the Ministry of Steel, has said in its latest report."SAIL, RINL, TSL, Essar, JSWL and JSPL together produced 18.795 MT... The rest 14.216 MT came from other producers," it said.The country had produced 31.80 MT steel during the first four months of the preceding fiscal.In April-July, hot metal output stood at 21.397 MT, registering a growth of 1.8 per cent over the same period last year, the JPC said in its report, adding, "Overall hot metal production last month at 5.526 MT was 3.5 per cent up over July 2016 and 6.1 per cent over June 2017."During the four-month period, the country's pig iron production for sale was at 3.043 MT, a fall of 3.2 per cent over the same period last year. Overall production for sale of pig iron last month at 0.758 MT was up of 0.5 per cent over June 2017 but was down 4.2 per cent over July 2016."Production of total finished steel for sale was at 34.43 MT during April-June 2017, a growth of 6.9 per cent over same period of last year," the report said.Last month, overall production for sale of total finished steel was at 8.256 MT, down 5 per cent over June 2017 but was up by 9 per cent over July 2016, it said.Empowered by the Ministry of Steel, the JPC is the only institution in the country, which collects data on the Indian iron and steel industry.India is the third largest producer of crude steel in the world after China and Japan. The country is now aiming to grab the second spot.The steel ministry has set an ambitious target of taking the country's steel output to 300 MT by 2030-31 from 100 MT at present and is taking various measures to boost the sector. The government has approved the National Steel Policy 2017 (NSP) in this regard.It has also given nod to another policy for providing preference to domestically manufactured iron and steel products in government procurements. Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

By Sophia Yan| 2017-08-15 13:20:32

Talk about a roller coaster. Chinese steel prices are falling this week after spiking to record highs last week as a series of curbs targeting speculative trading kick in.Starting Tuesday, one of China's biggest commodities derivatives markets is raising transaction fees to 0.05 percent of the total value, from 0.01 percent, on steel rebar futures contracts for delivery in October 2017 and January 2018. The Shanghai Futures Exchange is also limiting intraday positions on those contracts to 8,000 lots.The October 2017 contract has slipped a bit over 2 percent so far this week to 3,880 yuan per metric ton, but remains up 35 percent for the year.Chinese steel has rallied steadily this year, but high trading volume and a recent price surge has worried authorities. Increased oversight on the metal underscores Beijing's priority to maintain market stability in a sensitive political year, and its continued efforts to iron out the country's history of boom-and-bust cycles in commodities trading. China is both the world's largest producer and consumer of steel, so price fluctuations can hit the world's second-largest economy on all sides.All of this "will continue to affect market sentiment this week, as the commodities market is mostly policy driven," wrote UOB Kay Hian analyst Sandra Huang in a research note. "We think the government is targeting to curb speculative trading in the futures market, rather than in the spot and stock markets."The scrutiny on commodities is not going away. The Shanghai Stock Exchange has formally asked companies including Anyang Iron and Steel and Fangda Coal for comments on steel prices, the impact of cuts to capacity and production, and clarity regarding company profitability, according to filings. Earlier this month, official state media said the Shanghai exchange would strengthen its oversight of any corporate actions and issues that may pose financial risks to the market.On Friday, the China Iron and Steel Industry Association said in a strong statement that the jump in steel futures was driven by speculation over the impact of coming capacity cuts, not fundamentals. It also said it had convened meetings with industry to analyze the "abnormal" price fluctuations.Beijing is aiming to cut steel capacity by up to 150 metric tons by 2020, and major rust belt provinces are meant to scale back production this winter in efforts to lower air pollution. Analysts said last week that recently announced targets related to those cuts had contributed to the surge in pricing.But given the series of curbs introduced over the last few days, analysts said they expect more action to come from authorities and for the current pricing downtrend to continue in steel, impacting other commodities."Basically, retail traders in China have taken this to mean the highs have been seen," said Chris Weston, chief market strategist at IG. "Clearly, there has been a liquidation of long positions from the bulls ... I would be cautious here and be keeping a firm eye on iron ore futures as the selling could accelerate."The September 2017 iron ore contract traded on the Dalian Commodity Exchange is trading 4 percent lower so far this week.China's top steel firms were all down Tuesday morning in early trade, led by a 3 percent drop in Maanshan Iron and Steel shares traded in both Shanghai and Hong Kong.Source: CNBC

By RTTNews| 2017-08-14 09:39:04

Argentina's crude steel production in July was at 398,800 tons, marking a 7.2% increase over June while rising 12% when compared to the same month of 2016, said the Argentinean Steel's Chamber.In July, the production of hot rolled products in Argentina was at 426,000 tons, 29.7% higher than in July 2016.According to the chamber, "the industrial activity in agriculture, construction and home appliances related sectors continues to strengthen."Steel consumers confirmed the economic recovery trend started in the second quarter of this year, the steel chamber said, adding that works at a gasoduct in Córdoba are increasing local demand for steel pipes. Also, "seamless pipes exports to the international market were resumed."Source: markets.businessinsider.com

By indiainfoline.com| 2017-08-14 00:00:00

Indian markets are flooded with cheap products from China directly affecting the profitability of the domestic industry. The issue got highlighted when the big players in the Indian tyre industry requested Indian government to impose anti-dumping duty on import of Chinese truck and radial tyres.As a result, the government imposed anti-dumping duty on 93 products on Aug 9. "Anti-dumping duty is in force on 93 products concerning imports from China," said Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in a written reply to Rajya Sabha.These 93 products belong to a broad group of chemicals and petrochemicals, products of steel and other metals, fibres and yarn, machinery items, rubber or plastic products, electric and electronic items and consumer goods, among others.Anti-dumping duty is a protectionist stance taken by a government to cushion domestic companies from an increase in cheap price imports. When a country exports its products to other countries with a selling price below the cost price of the same product in other countries then it is called as dumping of products. This harms the profitability of domestic companies.  Anti-dumping steps are taken to ensure fair trade and provide a level-playing field to the domestic industry.India’s imports from China in 2016-17 have marginally dipped to USD 61.28 billion as against USD 61.7 in 2015-16. Government’s move to impose anti-dumping duties on most of the Chinese products would give relief to domestic players for some time.Source: www.indiainfoline.com

By Sophia Yan| 2017-08-11 09:31:07

China's steel prices are on the riseIn March, Beijing announced plans to slash steel capacity by 50 million metric tons this year in efforts to tackle pollution and curb excess supplyHigher prices translates to better profits for industry, but it also means increased costs for sectors like construction that use much of the alloyChina's steel prices are rising, and the government is getting worried about striking the right balance on the markets.China, the world's largest steel producer, has been working to tackle overcapacity in the sector, as the government seeks to find economic growth outside of heavy industry and manufacturing, The cutbacks also come amid long-time claims by the U.S. and Europe that China was selling its unwanted steel at lower prices on global markets, hurting producers elsewhere.In March, the government announced plans to slash steel capacity by 50 million metric tons this year in efforts to tackle pollution and curb excess supply. Experts say the prospect of limited steel is pushing prices up, and it's got authorities worried about market volatility. China is also the world's top steel consumer, so higher prices translates to better profits for industry, but it also means increased costs for sectors like construction that use much of the alloy.The government is convening meetings this week with regulators and industry executives as prices have surged, Reuters reported, citing a source at the China Iron and Steel Association.For Beijing, it's a tough situation: tackle steel overcapacity, rebalance economic growth, control environmental pollution and also manage market stability — especially in advance of a leadership shuffle due in the fall.So far this year, steel rebar futures have rallied on the Shanghai Futures Exchange — the September 2017 contract is up 40 percent to date, and is sitting today at around 4,131 yuan, according to Reuters data.Even on Monday, the price of hot-rolled coil, a key steel product, surged 5 percent after Hebei province announced new measures to limit steel production to half of its capacity during the winter months, Nomura analysts wrote in a note. Hebei accounted for nearly one-fourth of China's total steel production in the first half of this year.In the long run, analysts and companies expect higher prices to stay as the cutbacks continue, with China's curbs estimated to reduce overall crude steel production by 5 to 10 percent, according to Nomura. China's steel exports are likely to continue to dip, after falling in July, said Charles Bradford, metals analyst and president at Bradford Research."Output in China's steel industry has sometimes been curtailed temporarily in order to tackle environmental problems, but we think the production cutbacks in the latest measures will be substantial compared to the other occasions," wrote the Nomura analysts.For industry, that's good news when it comes to stronger earnings, especially after China's faltering economic growth triggered a rout in global commodities over a year ago, prompting industry to pull back on investment and jobs.S&P Global said on Wednesday it expected India's Tata Steel to see healthy profitability for the rest of the year. Japan's steel industry is also seeing a boost in export margins. And South Korea's steel industry is poised to benefit with less Chinese steel coming in — the country is a major steel export destination for China, and firms there have been in fierce competition with the Chinese.Baoshan Iron and Steel, China's largest steel company, fell around 3 percent in the Thursday morning session, but is up 30 percent so far this year.Source: CNBC

By David Stanway| 2017-08-10 00:00:00

Steelmakers in the smog-prone northern Chinese province of Hebei will be forced to halt operations next month if they fail to meet tough new pollution restrictions, the local environmental authority said in a notice.Steel enterprises must comply with state and province-level emission restrictions by Sept. 1 or they will be shut down, the Hebei Province Environmental Protection Bureau said late on Tuesday.City governments should "leave no dead ends" when it comes to eliminating firms that fail to comply with the pollution control measures, the bureau said in a notice.Heavy industrial Hebei, which surrounds China's capital Beijing, was home to six of the country's 10 most polluted cities last year and has been on the front line of a nationwide "war on pollution".The province produces a quarter of the country's steel and promised to shut at least 60 million tonnes of its massive 286 million tonne annual production capacity during the 2013-2017 period. It also vowed last year to impose "special emissions restrictions" on the steel sector as it tries to meet tough 2013-2017 pollution targets.To impose those restrictions, authorities have cut the amount of emissions permits granted to steel firms, forcing them to make extra efforts to upgrade technology and clean up their production processes."Right now all enterprises have to implement the emissions permit system and emit according to how many permits they get - otherwise they will be in breach of regulations and will be punished," said an official with the steel industry association in Tangshan, China's biggest steelmaking city."All enterprises that fail to meet these standards will be affected," he said, adding that the current campaign was one of the reasons why steel prices were on the rise.The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region is under pressure to cut 2012 levels of small particulate matter by around 25 percent for the whole of this year, with Beijing aiming to keep average PM2.5 rates at below 60 micrograms per cubic meter, down from 73 micrograms in 2016.However, the region is under heavy pressure as a result of a near-record smog levels in January and February, which forced dozens of cities to issue "red alerts" to curb industrial activity and thin traffic.According to the latest environment ministry data, average PM2.5 readings in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region rose 14.3 percent in the first half of the year to 72 micrograms, mostly as a result of the January and February spike.Reporting by David Stanway; Editing by Richard PullinSource: Reuters