A Weekly Roundup of the Raw Materials Market
Last week, the performance of various varieties in the domestic raw material market was mixed. Affected by the epidemic, the overall finished product market was generally traded, and the price of iron ore fell as a whole; the prices of coke and coking coal continued to rise; in terms of ferroalloys, the prices of common alloys rose steadily, and the prices of special Alloy prices fell as a whole. During this period, the price changes of the main varieties are as follows:
Imported iron ore prices fell overall
Last week, the price of imported iron ore fell overall. The National Development and Reform Commission once again proposed that it will continue to carry out the reduction of national crude steel production in 2022, with the goal of ensuring that the national crude steel production in 2022 will decrease year-on-year. This news has a certain impact on the iron ore market mentality. Under the circumstance that the overall downstream demand has not been released due to the epidemic and the profits of steel mills have been further compressed, the iron ore market is under certain pressure. In the past week, the rapid depreciation of the RMB also reflects the changes in the external environment, and the market is expected to decline. Iron ore futures and swap prices fell sharply on Friday night. At present, the operating rate of blast furnaces of steel mills has risen slowly, but the overall demand will still increase. In addition, as the "May Day" holiday is approaching, some steel mills will still have a small amount of restocking. It is expected that the price of imported iron ore will fall first and then rise in the near future.
Domestic metallurgical coke prices continue to rise
Last week, domestic metallurgical coke prices continued to rise. Steel mills in East China, North China, and Northeast China have successively implemented the sixth round of price increases for metallurgical coke, with an increase of 200 yuan/ton; the monthly pricing of coke companies in the central and southern regions and the metallurgical coke prices of steel mills are stable; the semi-monthly pricing of metallurgical coke purchase prices of steel mills in the southwest region Stablize. In terms of production and sales, from the perspective of demand, the blast furnace operating rate of 194 steel mills increased by 0.3% to 88.27% last week, the demand for metallurgical coke continued to increase slightly, and the metallurgical coke inventory of 80 steel mills increased by 97,000 tons to 4.749 million tons. From the perspective of supply, the capacity utilization rate of 205 independent coke enterprises increased by 0.34% to 75.58% from the previous week, the supply of metallurgical coke increased slightly, and the inventory of metallurgical coke of 100 independent coke enterprises increased by 23,000 tons to 551,000 tons. The coke inventory at the four major ports decreased by 40,000 tons to 2.335 million tons, continuing to decrease slightly. The National Development and Reform Commission requires that crude steel output continue to decline this year, which is bad for the raw and fuel market. Some coke companies are temporarily stable. There are traders in the port who sell at lower prices to realize profits. Traders without orders have no purchase plans. In the short term, the tight supply of metallurgical coke is difficult to change. It is expected that the metallurgical coke spot market will be stable and strong in the near future.
Domestic coking coal prices continue to rise
Last week, the price of domestic coking coal continued to rise, and online auction transactions were relatively good. The price of coking coal from Hebei Tangshan Mine to market households generally rose by 100 yuan / ton to 3,465 yuan / ton. Shanxi Changzhi low-sulfur coking coal G80 price increased by 100 yuan / ton to the current exchange rate of 3,500 yuan / ton; Linfen Anze coking coal G80 executed the previous contract, and the current exchange rate is 3,500 yuan / ton; Linfen Township Ning individual large mines have stopped production due to surrounding coal mines, and resources are tight , Coking coal prices generally rose, after the rise, the current exchange rate of coking coal G80 was 3500 yuan / ton, and the current exchange rate of coking coal G60 was 2980 yuan / ton. Online transactions are generally good. The current exchange rate of coking coal A10S1G80 auctioned by individual Liulin mines online is 3,210 yuan/ton, up 70 yuan/ton from the previous issue. The situation of automobile transportation in Shanxi Province has improved compared with the previous week. Coupled with the demand of coking enterprises to replenish storage, some coal mines have plans to raise prices. It is expected that the price of coking coal will remain high in the short term.
The prices of various varieties of ferroalloys rose and fell
Last week, the prices of various ferroalloys went up and down. The price of ferrosilicon rose by 50 yuan/ton, and the individual increase reached 600 yuan/ton. Ferrosilicon enterprises in Ningxia are normally arranging orders for production, and the ordering period is usually 15 to 20 days. The quotations are relatively firm, and retail traders are cautious and wait-and-see, and their willingness to purchase is low. Near the end of the month, the bidding for steel mills in May is about to start. It is expected that the ferrosilicon market will be stable and strong in the near future. The silicon-manganese market fluctuated within a narrow range, and the ex-factory acceptance price in the main producing areas was 8,300 yuan/ton to 8,500 yuan/ton. Silicon-manganese manufacturers still use high-priced ores purchased in the early stage. Coupled with the impact of rising electricity bills, coke, and shipping costs, the overall cost of manufacturers is still high. In terms of demand, as the "May Day" approaching, most steel mills will choose to complete the bidding before the festival.
The price of high carbon ferrochromium increased by 200 yuan/50 base ton to 300 yuan/50 base ton. Due to environmental inspections, some high-carbon ferrochromium enterprises in Inner Mongolia stopped production and maintenance, and some high-carbon ferrochromium enterprises in Shanxi stopped production due to poor transportation of raw materials. Affecting the output of 40,000 to 60,000 tons, it is expected that the domestic high-carbon ferrochromium output will drop slightly in April. Prices of coke and chrome ore have risen, and the production cost of high-carbon ferrochromium has continued to rise. It is expected that the high-chromium market will remain stable in the short term.
The vanadium series market is stable and weak. After mid-April, the demand from steel mills was relatively low, and vanadium-based alloy traders also purchased more goods on demand, so the price of vanadium was in a dilemma. It is expected that the vanadium market will fluctuate within a narrow range in the short term. Molybdenum prices fell from high levels. As of April 21, the total amount of ferromolybdenum tendered by steel mills was 5,100 tons, and the bidding price of steel mills was reduced, focusing on 183,000 yuan/ton to 187,000 yuan/ton. Large-scale molybdenum enterprises in Shaanxi have started roasting maintenance, and ferromolybdenum plants are generally full of orders. In the short term, the tight supply of raw materials in the market will still support the price of molybdenum, and the price of molybdenum is expected to gradually stop falling and stabilize.
