Supply - Global shipments increased by 242.3 million tons to 34.31 million tons this week, with Australia and Brazil contributing a total of 28.688 million tons, an increase of 788,000 tons [1] - Australian shipments totaled 19.205 million tons, a decrease of 927,000 tons, with shipments to China at 14.998 million tons, down by 2.814 million tons [1] - Brazilian shipments reached 9.483 million tons, an increase of 1.715 million tons, while the total port arrival volume was 25.365 million tons, up by 3.852 million tons [1] Demand - Daily pig iron production averaged 2.418 million tons, a slight decrease of 110,000 tons; blast furnace operating rate was 83.56%, down by 0.31% [1] - Blast furnace ironmaking capacity utilization rate was 90.65%, a decrease of 0.04 percentage points; steel mill profit margin remained stable at 58.87% [1] Inventory - As of May 22, total inventory at 45 ports was 139.8783 million tons, a decrease of 1.7826 million tons; the decline in inventory was mainly due to a drop in port arrival volume [1] - Steel mills' imported ore inventory decreased by 3.568 million tons to 89.2548 million tons, with daily consumption slightly down and steel mill inventory remaining stable [1] Market Outlook - The global iron ore shipment volume saw a significant increase this week, with Brazilian ports resuming operations and non-mainstream shipments recovering from low levels, leading to a gradual increase in arrival volumes [2] - On the demand side, pig iron production remained stable compared to last week, and steel mill profit margins are at historically high levels [2] - Inventory levels are decreasing, but the pace has slowed compared to last week; overall, iron ore continues to maintain a destocking pattern [2] - Future outlook indicates potential risks of weakening demand in the off-season, but some resilience remains; average pig iron production is expected to stay around 2.4 million tons in June [2] - Supply pressure from overseas mines is expected to increase, with a peak in arrivals gradually becoming evident [2] - Short-term iron ore prices are expected to fluctuate within a range of 700-745 [2][3][4]

Price Trends - Import iron ore prices have decreased compared to the previous week, with 62% grade iron ore priced at $98.95 per ton, down 2.13% from May 16 [1] - Domestic iron ore prices have shown a slight increase, with 66% grade iron concentrate priced at 933 yuan per ton, up 0.97% from May 16 [1] - The average price for 62% grade iron ore from May 19 to May 23 was $99.85 per ton [1] Supply and Demand - Iron ore arrivals at Chinese ports increased slightly, with a total of 23.44 million tons arriving from May 12 to May 18, up 637,000 tons week-on-week [3] - The total iron ore shipment globally was 33.48 million tons, an increase of 3.19 million tons week-on-week [3] - The average daily steel inventory in China decreased to 9.60 million tons, down 331,000 tons week-on-week [4] Inventory Levels - As of May 23, the total inventory of imported iron ore at 45 ports in China was 139.88 million tons, a decrease of 1.78 million tons [4] - The average daily throughput of iron ore was 3.27 million tons [4] - Australian iron ore inventory decreased to 59.93 million tons, down 974,000 tons [4] Shipping Costs - The shipping cost from Hedland, Australia to Qingdao, China was $8.53 per ton, an increase of $0.16 [4] - The shipping cost from Brazil to China was $18.93 per ton, up $0.12 [4] Production Data - In mid-May, key steel enterprises produced 21.99 million tons of steel, with an average daily production of 2.20 million tons, a decrease of 0.3% week-on-week [5] - The average daily production of pig iron was 2.39 million tons, down 0.4% week-on-week [5] - The average daily production of steel products increased by 1.0% week-on-week to 4.16 million tons [5]

Report Overview - Report Type: Steel Daily Review [1] - Date: May 22, 2024 [2] - Research Team: Black Metal Research Team, including researchers Zhai Hepan, Nie Jiayi, and Feng Zeren [3] 1. Report Industry Investment Rating - Not provided in the report 2. Report's Core View - On May 21, the main contracts of rebar and hot-rolled coil futures 2510 oscillated, while the main contract of stainless steel futures 2507 oscillated upward. Currently, the fundamental contradictions of rebar and hot-rolled coil are small, and market sentiment has improved. In the short term, the futures prices will maintain an oscillating trend [5][10] 3. Summary by Relevant Catalogs 3.1 Market Conditions Review and Future Outlook 3.1.1 Spot Market Dynamics and Technical Trends - On May 21, the prices of rebar and hot-rolled coil in the spot market remained mostly unchanged, with only the hot-rolled coil price in Nanjing dropping by 10 yuan/ton. The daily KDJ indicators of the rebar and hot-rolled coil 2510 contracts showed a divergent downward trend, and the daily MACD red bars of both contracts shrank [8] 3.1.2 Future Outlook - Currently, the output of the five major steel products has slightly declined, inventory has increased, and the demand for rebar and hot-rolled coil has dropped from its peak. In terms of downstream demand, there are multiple signs of recovery in the real estate market. The steel demand in the automotive, shipbuilding, and machinery industries has generally maintained a high growth trend. Macroscopically, the Sino-US tariff situation has eased, the expectation of rush exports has increased significantly, and the expectation of downstream demand has recovered. In the future, the short-term futures prices will maintain an oscillating trend [10] 3.2 Industry News - In April 2025, China's crude steel output was 86.019 million tons, remaining flat year-on-year; from January to April, the cumulative crude steel output was 345.351 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 0.4%. From January to April 2025, Hebei ranked first with an output of 73.5503 million tons, followed by Jiangsu with 41.978 million tons and Shandong with 24.3396 million tons [11] - According to Mysteel, in May, HBIS Group's tender price for 75B ferrosilicon was set at 5,800 yuan/ton, down 150 yuan/ton from 5,950 yuan/ton in April, with an inquiry price of 5,700 yuan/ton [11] - As of May 19, the total inventory of imported iron ore at 47 ports in China was 146.2763 million tons, a decrease of 2.5825 million tons from the previous Monday [11] - On May 21, the capacity utilization rate of 104 electric furnace plants across the country surveyed by Fubao Information was 40.4%, an increase of 1.2 percentage points from the previous week. The daily consumption of scrap steel was 245,400 tons, an increase of 7,400 tons from the previous period, a growth rate of 3.1%. The daily consumption of electric furnaces has increased for three consecutive weeks, and the daily consumption level of 104 electric furnaces has reached a new high in nearly 18 months [11] 3.3 Data Overview - The report provides multiple data charts, including the social inventory of rebar and hot-rolled coil in major cities, the spot prices of rebar and hot-rolled coil in major markets, the weekly output of the five major steel products, the steel mill inventory of the five major steel products, the blast furnace operating rate and ironmaking capacity utilization rate, the electric furnace operating rate and capacity utilization rate, the national average daily pig iron output, the apparent consumption of the five major steel products, and the basis between the Shanghai rebar and hot-rolled coil spot and the May contracts [14][15][24][27][31]