Leading gold producer sees output reach record high
Source: www.chinamining.org Citation: Reuters Date: June 16, 2016
Chinese steel and iron ore futures dropped for a second day on Wednesday, reflecting concerns over weak demand as construction activity slows during the summer.
After months of strong steel production as mills responded to a rally in prices earlier this year, output in China, the world`s top producer, could slow along with consumption, the China Iron and Steel Association warned.
"With waning demand and falling steel prices as summer enters, and against the backdrop of cutting overcapacity, there is a small possibility that steel production would continue expanding, and iron ore demand will unlikely rise," the industry group said in a report on its website.
China`s crude steel output rose 1.8 percent to 70.5 million tonnes in May from a year ago, the second time production topped 70 million tonnes this year, government data showed on Monday.
Output hit a record high of 70.65 million tonnes in March when a surge in steel prices spurred mills to boost output and the shuttered ones to resume operations.
Along with the summer lull, the momentum to build new housing units in China has somewhat cooled off, curbing future steel demand, said Argonaut Securities analyst Helen Lau.
The most-traded rebar, or reinforcing steel used in construction, on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was down 2.3 percent at 2,076 yuan a tonne by 0308 GMT.
On the Dalian Commodity Exchange, the most-active iron ore slipped 1.9 percent to 358.50 yuan a tonne.
Deals in the physical iron ore market were scarce this week, with little appetite for fresh seaborne cargoes and those stocked at China`s ports, traders said.
Iron ore for immediate delivery to China`s Tianjin port fell 1.9 percent to $50.80 a tonne on Tuesday, the lowest since June 6, according to The Steel Index.
The spot benchmark is 26 percent below this year`s peak reached in April, as the steelmaking raw material tracked the ensuing decline in Chinese steel prices.
About CHINA MINING
Since first held in 1999, the scope and influence of CHINA MINING has grown rapidly year by year. As a global mining summit forum and exhibition, CHINA MINING Congress and Expo has become one of the world’s top mining events, and one of the world’s largest mining exploration, development and trading platforms, covering all aspects of the whole mining industry chain, including geological survey, exploration and development, mining rights trading, mining investment and financing, smelting and processing, mining techniques and equipment, mining services, etc. playing an active promotion role in creating exchange opportunities and enhancing mutual cooperation between domestic and foreign mining enterprises.
CHINA MINING Congress and Expo 2016 will be held at Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center in Tianjin on September 22nd -25th, 2016. We invite you to join the event and to celebrate the 18th anniversary of CHINA MINING with us. For more information about CHINA MINING 2016, please visit: www.chinaminingtj.org.
