Weekly China Steel Market News Summary (July 1-July 5)

India's Jharkhand to put up 18 iron ore mines for auction next mth

"We are going to put 18 iron ore mines for auction in the near future," said Mines Arun Kumar, deputy director of Jharkhand, said during an event organized by Indian Chamber of Commerce. On the sidelines, he said the auction would take place in July.
The 18 iron ore mines have a combined reserve of around 250 million tonnes.

Australia's iron ore exports to drop for first time in 18 years

Iron ore exports from Australia are set to post the first annual drop in almost two decades following bad weather and output setbacks, worsening a global shortage and bolstering prices that have already surged to a five-year high. Futures advanced.
The world's top shipper cut its 2019 forecast to 814 million tonnes from 867 million in March and boosted its estimate for this year's average price by almost 20%, according to a report by the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science on July 1.
That would be the first contraction since 2001. Last year, Australian exports totaled 835 million tonnes.

China's steel PMI fell again in Jun on waning demand

China's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for steel sector declined 1.8 percentage points from a month earlier in June.
The index stood at 48.2 in June, falling back into the contraction area again, data from the China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing (CFLP) showed.
The sub-index for new orders and finished steel inventories edged up, yet the sub-index for production, new export orders, purchases of raw materials and raw materials inventories, etc. decreased following enterprises’ weak production will.

Observers become wary about short-term steel prices in China

Market observers expected Chinese domestic steel prices could be range-bound in the short run as they estimated the weak supply-demand fundamental might persist.
For the supply side, environmental inspections in Tangshan city will continue impacting local steel production.
The city urged six local steel mills, which are divided into A-category based on emissions, to cut 20% of production capacity last week; the rest mills in the city were asked to at least halve their production capacity.
In response, steel prices have risen sharply.
“In the near future, the steel market will be weak both in supply and demand,” one of researcher said, expecting steel prices to keep volatile in a narrow range.

SGIS Songshan plans to cut 2019 steel production

SGIS Songshan Co.,Ltd, the largest steel enterprise in southern China's Guangdong province, planned to cut production this year, said the company on an announcement on July 2.
The company planned to make 6.2 million tonnes of pig iron, 7 million tonnes of crude steel and 6.75 million tonnes of finished steel this year, compared with 5.77 million, 6.61 million and 6.36 million tonnes in 2018.
The company said the production plan for the first half year has been well completed. In August-October, the company will maintain two converters and two rolling lines at intervals.
Jiujiang Pinggang Jun steel output hits new record
    Jiujiang Pinggang Iron and Steel Company produced 563,000 tonnes of finished steel last month, translating into an average of about 18,000 tonnes per day, a new record since it founded.
To make one tonne of steel products, the company only consumed 818 kg of pig iron, hitting a new low in the company's history.

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