【Carburant】Slight Increase in Steel Prices Benefits 

Demand for Graphitized Carburants

Currently, graphitized carburants with specifications of C ≥ 98.5%, S ≤ 0.05%, and particle size 1-5mm are priced at around 4000-4100 yuan/ton, inclusive of taxes, in the East China region.

In terms of raw materials: Prices for petroleum coke have been largely stable with minor adjustments recently. Specifically, prices for locally refined coke have shown stable to slight declines, adjusting within a narrow range of 10-200 yuan/ton. Short-term coke prices are expected to stabilize.

In terms of inventory: As of this Friday, total steel inventory was 21.3317 million tons, marking a week-on-week decrease of 1.0802 million tons, or 4.8%. Inventory of major steel varieties continued to decline uniformly, with both factory and societal stocks showing reductions of 7.3% and 3.8%, respectively.

The ongoing decrease in steel inventories has improved the underlying fundamentals of the steel material. Since the beginning of April, influenced by favorable macroeconomic sentiment, the trend of slight increases in steel prices has continued. Steel prices have been adjusted upwards slightly, with a temporary rise in steel mills' profitability and ongoing release of molten iron, benefiting the demand for raw materials. However, according to feedback from manufacturers of graphitized carburants, steel mills are still not actively replenishing their inventories of raw materials, and the speed of recovery remains below expectations, necessitating continuous monitoring of the recovery of steel mill profits.

In the short term, with an increase in manufacturers' operating rates and weakening support from cost and supply sides leading to a continued decline in the prices of graphitized carburants, manufacturers are beginning to hold prices steady. However, with limited bargaining space due to weak downstream demand, the market is expected to primarily focus on consolidation. The demand for carburetors in the market is improving,  contact us for products' specifications.