On April 29, the China Iron and Steel Association held a press conference, revealing that in the first quarter of this year, steel enterprises proactively adapted to demand changes and maintained disciplined production control. Output of pig iron, crude steel, and finished steel all declined year-on-year, while steel exports retreated from high levels. Steel prices showed an overall stable trend but remained at their lowest levels in recent years for the same period. Recently, influenced by the Middle East situation, iron ore prices have remained high and coking coal prices have continued to rise. The industry's performance is characterized by "supply exceeding demand, declining exports, low and stable steel prices, and rising costs," putting continuous pressure on company operations.
Steel output decreased but still exceeded demand. According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, crude steel output in the first quarter was 248 million tons, down 4.6% year-on-year. Apparent crude steel consumption was 220 million tons, down 4.4% year-on-year, indicating that oversupply remains the primary issue. Among these figures, key member enterprises of the association produced 202 million tons of crude steel, a decrease of 4.9% year-on-year, a steeper decline than the national average, demonstrating the effectiveness of disciplined production control.
Steel exports declined in both volume and price. According to data from the General Administration of Customs, China's cumulative steel exports in the first quarter were 24.72 million tons, down 9.9% year-on-year, with an average export price of $698 per ton, down 1.0% year-on-year. Cumulative steel imports were 1.34 million tons, down 14.1% year-on-year, with an average import price of $1,747 per ton, up 4.2% year-on-year. Net crude steel exports totaled 27.38 million tons, down 6.2% year-on-year.
Steel inventories are higher than the same period last year. According to association monitoring, at the end of March, finished steel inventories at key steel enterprises stood at 16.55 million tons, up 17.0% from the beginning of the year and up 8.7% year-on-year. Social inventories of steel totaled 11.42 million tons, up 58.4% from the start of the year and up 10.2% year-on-year. Since March, both enterprise and social steel inventories have remained higher than the same period last year, with destocking progress slower than expected.
Steel prices trended "low and stable." In the first quarter, the China Steel Price Index averaged 91.39 points, down 4.39% year-on-year, significantly lower than the average for the same period over the previous three years. However, the index showed minor fluctuations, indicating overall price stability. Specifically, the CSPI long products index averaged 93.76 points, down 4.15% year-on-year, while the flat products index averaged 89.41 points, down 4.76% year-on-year, with a larger decline for flat products than for long products.
In the first quarter, the CRU international steel price index averaged 200.3 points, up 7.0% year-on-year. The CRU long products index averaged 204.5 points, up 4.3% year-on-year, while the flat products index averaged 198.2 points, up 8.5% year-on-year, showing a clear divergence between domestic and international steel price trends.
Prices of key raw materials remained high. In the first quarter, China imported 315 million tons of iron ore, up 10.5% year-on-year, with an average import price of $100.7 per ton, up 0.7% year-on-year. Since March, import iron ore prices have consistently traded above $100 per ton. Coking coal prices rose rapidly from 1,468 yuan per ton at the end of February and have recently fluctuated around 1,530 yuan per ton, significantly higher than the same period last year. In March, the procurement cost of coking coal and metallurgical coke for key steel enterprises increased by 6.36% and 4.18% year-on-year, respectively.
Profits declined for key enterprises. In the first quarter, key steel enterprises reported cumulative operating revenue of 1,489.5 billion yuan, up 1.2% year-on-year, while operating costs were 1,406.2 billion yuan, up 1.5% year-on-year. Total profits were 21.7 billion yuan, down 5.1% year-on-year, with a sales profit margin of 1.46%, down 0.09 percentage points year-on-year. Profits from the core steel business were 1.03 billion yuan, a sharp decrease of 85.6% year-on-year, with a profit margin of 0.1%. At the end of March, the asset-liability ratio for key steel enterprises was 61.08%, down 1.88 percentage points year-on-year, while accounts receivable decreased by 0.09% year-on-year, indicating further optimization of the corporate capital structure and sound financial conditions.