Prices of key steelmaking ingredients including coking coal and iron ore extended gains in January, while those for PCI coal and metallurgical coke dropped, according to data from the China Steel Development Research Institute.
Raw materials constituted over 70% of production costs for steel enterprises in China, said the agency, which directly decided their competitiveness and profit margins.
In January, coking coal's weighted average purchase prices climbed 2.24% month on month to 2,054.05 yuan/t, while that for met coke came in at 2,407.51 yuan/t, edging down 0.09% from the preceding month.
Costs of domestic iron ore and imported iron ore fines increased 5.38% and 2.34%, respectively, compared with the preceding month, reaching 1,002.53 yuan/t and 1,012.45 yuan/t.
Prices of pulverized coal injection (PCI) coal fell 2.13% to 1,204.40 yuan/t. Scrap prices rose 2.86% to 2,681.37 yuan/t.
In January, coking coal, met coke, PCI coal and scrap steel prices declined 4-12% compared to the same month in 2023, while domestic iron ore and imported fines saw over 20% increases on the year.
(Writing by yan.sun Editing by Alex Guo)
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