China's Oct crude stainless steel output up 2% on month

China's crude stainless steel output posted an on-month growth of 78,700 tonnes or 2.2% to reach 3.62 million tonnes in October, according to the latest data released by the Stainless Steel Council of China Iron and Steel Association (CSSC) on December 2.

Among the total, production of 200-series crude stainless steel rose by 71,800 tonnes or 7.1% from the previous month to reach 1.09 million tonnes in October, and that of 300-series crude stainless steel registered 1.9 million tonnes, higher by 86,600 tonnes or 4.8% on month.

In contrast, China produced 585,300 tonnes of 400-series crude stainless steel in October, falling by 83,800 tonnes or 12.5% from the prior month, and the country's high-end duplex stainless registered 47,923 tonnes, the CSSC data showed.

China's crude stainless steel output (Unit: '000 tonnes)

Source: CSSC

As for the foreign trade, China exported 358,100 tonnes of stainless steel in October with an on-month fall of 60,400 tonnes or 14.4%, while the country's total import volume for October reached 124,100 tonnes, edging up 3,800 tonnes or 3.2% from September, according to CSSC.

The association's statistics showed that China's apparent consumption of stainless steel reached 3.05 million tonnes in October, increasing by 166,300 tonnes or 4.7% on month.

However, domestic stainless steel demand still fell short of market expectations, as October usually marks a peak season for steel consumption in China, and the higher stainless output also put some pressure on China's stainless steel prices, Mysteel Global noted.

By the end of October, the spot price of 304/2B Hongwang 2*1240mm stainless cold-rolled coil in Wuxi in East China's Jiangsu province was assessed by Mysteel at Yuan 12,900/tonne ($1,825/t) in-warehouse and including the 13% VAT, lower by Yuan 150/t from one month earlier.

Source:Mysteel Global