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NDRC strengthens inspection over steel projects(2007/04/19)
National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) recently announced to strengthen inspection over steel engineering enterprises and engineering management. The announcement allows nobody to undertake illegal steel projects that were not approved by the central government and to receive engineering orders of backward facilities that not in line with industry policy.
Since last September when self-inspected stage started in the steel engineering firms, NDRC has found a considerable part of them unaware of overall situation and negligent of carrying out industry policy and macro regulation during the period from 2004. An official at NDRC said these firms self-designed and undertook new capacity projects of iron-making, steel-making and rolling that were not approved by the government. Some companies even participated in a batch of illegal steel projects concerning small blasts and small converters.

Tax Rebate Cut to Slow Steel Sector(2007/04/19)
China's iron and steel industry is expected to grow at a relatively slower pace this year as it will take some time for it to absorb the pressure of the price rise caused by the government's latest move to cut tax rebates on exports of some steel products.
The government will reduce tax rebates on exports of select high-end steel products such as stainless plate and cold-rolled steel sheet and completely remove the tax rebate on hot-rolled steel sheet and section steel from April 15, announced the Ministry of Finance on Tuesday.
"The tax rebate cut, which has been debated for a long time, won't have a substantial impact on the market. Many steel producers increased their exports substantially even before the tax rebate policy was introduced," said Qi Xiangdong, deputy secretary-general of the China Iron and Steel Association at the 2007 China Steel Import and Export Seminar yesterday.
"Besides, the international demand for steel is increasing rapidly," he said.
According to statistics of the General Administration of Customs, China's steel exports stood at 5.38 million tons in March, up 22.8 percent from last year. Exports in January and February amounted to 8.75 million tons, up 40 percent year-on-year.
But Qi said the development of China's iron and steel industry will be slower this year mainly because of the stricter macro control leading to a shrinkage in fixed-assets investment in the industry.
By the end of 2007, blast furnaces below 200 cubic meters and converters and electric furnaces below 20 tons will not be allowed, according to a National Development and Reform Commission policy.
"It's impossible to maintain the usual 20-percent growth rate as steel companies' production capacity will be weakened."
Qi and other steel experts said Chinese steel prices will remain steady and lower than the price in the international market this year. But steel companies' profits are expected to rise because of the improvement in product structure and reduction of operation costs.
Analysts said the rebate cut won't affect prices of steel stocks as the move was widely expected.

China Has 59 Bln Tons of Proven Iron Ore Reserves（2007/04/18）
The proven iron ore reserves in China are 59.39 billion tons, according to the Ministry of Land and Resources.
The iron content of the reserves is 30 to 35 percent on average and 41.5 billion tons among the total reserves is magnetite, the ministry said in a statement posted on its Website.
It noted that China has proven copper reserves of 85.31 million tons, located mainly in Tibet, the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River, the southeast coastal areas and the eastern part of China's Northeast.
The proven reserves of bauxite, the raw material to make aluminum, stand at 2.66 billion tons, according to the statement. It added that more than 90 percent of the reserves are located in Shanxi, Guangxi, Henan and Guizhou.

China has 59 bln tons of proven iron ore reserves(2007/04/16)
The proven iron ore reserves in China are59.39 billion tons, according to the Ministry of Land and Resources.
The iron content of the reserves is 30 to 35 percent on average and 41.5 billion tons among the total reserves is magnetite, the ministry said in a statement posted on its Web site.
It noted that China has proven copper reserves of 85.31 million tons, located mainly in Tibet, the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River, the southeast coastal areas and the eastern part of China's Northeast.
The proven reserves of bauxite, the raw material to make aluminum, stand at 2.66 billion tons, according to the statement. It added that more than 90 percent of the reserves are located in Shanxi, Guangxi, Henan and Guizhou.

Structural adjustment looming before tax rebate to be reduced(2007/04/11)
Jiangsu Province’s steel industry is mulling how to conduct structural adjustment in front of the change of national tax rebate policy for steel.
The steel industry still plays a prominent role in boosting the local economic growth although its ratio to the national economy is not outstanding. The backbone steel makers in the Province such as Shagang, Nangang and Jiangyin Xingcheng Special Steel have advanced their export volumes and profits in recent years. In 2006, for example, the leader Shagang exported 1.7 million tons of steel, ranking No.3 in the country and Nangang exported 600,000 tons, earning over $300 million through hot rolled medium steel alone. Export of the listed Jiangyin Fasten Group accounted for 26.87% of its total sales in 2006.
Experts pointed out that the local steel industry leaves no time to delay in conducting two structural adjustments in front of the change of tax rebate policy. One is the adjustment for product structure, which requires to speed up eliminating products of high energy consumption, high degree pollution and lower value while develop new products of low energy consumption, low degree pollution and higher value. The other is the adjustment for assets structure.


Li Shijun: the steel demand in China is estimated to reach 470 million tons in 2010(2007/04/10)
The steel demand is estimated to reach 470 million tons in 2010, and the consumed steel is to reach 490 million tons, according to a speech made by Li Shijun, vice secretary-general of China Iron and Steel Association, on “2007 (the second) China Iron and Steel-Iron Alloy Industry Chain Development Summit”.
Iron and steel industry is a vital basic industry for Chinese economy, and also an important mark for a country’s national economy and society level and synthesis strength. “In recent years, the iron and steel industry in China has had a great progress, and boosted the development of China’s economy. With the continuous growth of the economies in China and in the world, the iron and steel demand is to expand further.” He said in the speech.
“The “11th Five-year Plan” for economy development made by Chinese Government is targeting at constructing a low input and high output, low energy consuming and waste emitted, recyclable and sustainable developing economy and energy saving and environment friendly society. In the last two year of the 11th Five-year (2009 to 2010), the motivation for economy growth will be transferred from investment and export to consummation and investment together with demand from domestic and abroad. Therefore, at an estimated GDP growth of 9% in the first three years and 7.5% in the last two years, the steel demand in China is to reach 470 million tons in 2010.” Said Li Shijun, when he was having an interview.

Expert came with several suggestions on the development of steel industry in Hebei Province（2007/04/03）
Shan Shanghua, director of Metallurgical Planning Institute, chief analyst and Deputy Secretary-General at CISA brought forwards several suggestions on the development of steel industry in Hebei Province at a forum as follows:
1. Local steel products earmarked low-end and low value-added features as a whole. He said local steel industry has improved in the structure to a greater extent during the past ten years, covering all kind of materials except seamless pipe and stainless steel, with sheet/strip ratio up to some 50%. In comparison with the whole country, however, its shortcomings manifested three aspects as follows: (1) lack of featuring products that can dominate the domestic market; (2) ratios of medium wide strip and narrow strip were excessively bigger although sheet/strip ratio was not low; (3) lack of secondary and thrice-processed products and lower value added.
2. Although the general level of steel industry in Hebei improved to a greater extent in comparison with its own historic development, it is still in a low level compared to the whole country and facilities to be eliminated in accordance with the state policy are comparatively focused there.
3. Employee’s salary is comparatively lower and there are more risks in the cost.

Dazhong city of Sichuan bans construction of new steel works(2007/03/21)
The government of Sichuan Province released issues in compliance with Decision on Carrying out Scientific Development View and Strengthening Environmental Protection by State Council on March 19, which pointed out that serious effort should be made to address pollution sources, to continue to renovate pollutions from industry source; more efforts be given to strengthen prevention of pollution, reduce pollution loading, set aside environment capacity and prolong the stamina of industry development; great effort be given to develop recycling economy, actively push to clean production; expansion and new projects of high energy consumption such as steel and melting units will be banned in large and medium cities as well as their outskirts; water energy should be developed in order and new type energy like solar and biology be developed vigorously.
The issue called for persistence in pursuit of addressing pollution sources in the cities, of protecting sources of drinking water as well as preventing air pollution.

Guizhou Province to wash out backward capacity in 121 producers（2007/03/19）
According to local government of Guizhou Province, the energy consumption of the whole industry across the province lowered by 2% in 2006, failing to meet the planned target of 4.04%. Therefore, the government will take tough measures to eliminate backward capacity this year.
According to a report from the State Statistics Bureau, the energy consumption of GDP per 10 thousand yuan in Guizhou reached 3.25 tons of standard coal per 10 thousand yuan, ranked No.2 in the country.
In 2007, the local government will eliminate backward capacity in 121 firms of high energy consumption sectors such as steel, coking, ferroalloy, cement and calcium carbide, and try to reduce energy consumption per GDP in the region by 4.95% in 2007.

Steel Products Export Soars in First 2 Months(2007/03/15)
China exported 8.75 million tons of steel products in the first two months this year, up 139.3 percent year-on-year, according to the General Administration of Customs.
The country's steel billet export soared 87.9 percent year-on-year to hit 1.12 million tons in the January-February period, according to customs figures.
China imported 2.7 million tons of steel products in the first two months, down 4.6 percent, and imported 50,000 tons of steel billet, roughly same as the amount of last year's same period.
China's steel products export totaled 4.38 million tons in February alone, with a daily export of 156,400 tons, a year-on-year rise of 10.69 percent, customs statistics showed. The daily import in February stood at 43,600 tons, down 8.6 percent from last year's same month.
Analysts said that rising exports indicated that some steel producers have stepped up their exports against the expected cut in the export tax rebate.
The soaring steel exports might prompt the birth of new policies to adjust the export tax at an earlier date, said analysts.
China's steel exports soared drastically from a very low basis at the beginning of 2006, so the statistics indicated irrational changes, said Mao Zuhong, a research fellow with the United Securities.
Mao said attention should be focused on month-on-month figures.
Customs figures show that China exported 4.92 million tons of steel products and billet in February, down 0.61 percent from the previous month.
However, analysts said that expected export tax cut would only slow down growth rate in total steel products export, it would not change the growing trend in export.
China expects to produce approximately 460 million tons of crude steel this year, a steady growth of 10 percent over last year, according to the State Development and Reform Commission.
In 2006 the nation's crude steel output amounted to 418.78 million tons, up 18.48 percent year-on-year. (Xinhua News Agency March 14, 2007)

Shougang Jingtang steel project got go-ahead from the State Council(2007/03/14)
According to National Development and Reform Commission, Shougang Jingtang steel project has already got approval from the State Council, according to which 8 million tons of steel capacity in Beijing area will be suspended, 7.3 million tons of backward capacity in Hebei Province will be eliminated and, in the meanwhile Tangshan Caofeidian steel works has already been confirmed by the State. Zhu Jimin, Chairman of the Shougang said a construction ceremony will be held next Monday in Cao Feidian and the project will put on stream by 2010.
The total investment is 67.731 billion yuan, Shougang will own 51% shares of the project and Tanggang holds remaining 49%. The project has design pig iron capacity of 8.98 million tons per year, crude steel of 9.7 million tons, finished steel of 9.13 million tons, operates two blast furnaces with 5500 cubic meters, two 300t converters, 2250mm and 1580mm hot continuous rolling mills as well as 1700mm and 1550mm pickling cold rolled mills.

Jiangsu Province to eliminate backward steel capacity over 10 million tons(2007/03/13)
Jiangsu Province was one of the key areas listed by National Development and Reform Commission to wash out backward steel capacity in 2007. It is understood the province will eliminate outdated pig iron capacity of 5.92 million tons and steel capacity of 4.62 million tons during the 11th Five-Year Plan period.
In order to further crack down inefficient capacity, the local government will conduct investigation over steel producers, boost process of merge and consolidation as well as force to ceases mills. The authority will announce the name of firms with blast furnaces of 200 cubic meters or below, converters of 20t or below and electric furnaces of 20t or below to be eliminated by the end of 2007, backward capacity as well as facilities.

NBS made correction of steel output for 2006(2007/03/06)
In a notice about national economy and social development, National Bureau of Statistics revised China’s crude steel output for 2006 at 422.66 million tons, up by 19.7% from the previous year from the January report of 418.78 million tons, up 18.48% and finished steel production at 473.4 million tons, up 25.3% from the original report of 466.85 million tons, up 24.45%. The latest results suggested a rapid and sustained growth in Chinese steel production.
It is certain that China’s crude steel production will surpass 470 million tons and perhaps approach 480 million tons in 2007, with growth rate of 14%, slightly lower than 2006 due to a slowdown of the rise in fixed assets investment in the steel industry during 2006.

Shandong and Jiangsu set targets to eliminate backward steel capacity（2007/03/02）
Shandong and Jiangsu Provinces set targets to eliminate backward steel capacity yesterday.
Shandong planed to crack down backward iron capacity of 4.06 million tons, steel capacity of 1.35 million tons in 2007 and eliminate 3.68 million tons of iron capacity during 2008 to 2010. In the meanwhile, Jiangsu put forward to wash out backward iron capacity of 5.92 million tons and steel capacity of 4.62 million tons during the 11th Five-Year Plan period.

NDRC: China’s crude steel production is expected to reach 460 million tons in 2007（2007/03/01）
The National Development and Reform Commission pointed out in an industry notice that domestic steel industry took advantage of favorable overall business trend home and abroad and the industry in 2007 will keep a steady growth in spite of difficulties in tightened rail transportation, increased trade frictions and soared prices in raw materials.
Steel consumption rose by 10%
In 2007, the development of world economy and China’s macro business will remain stable although the growth tends to slow down. A survey from China Iron and Steel Association indicated that steel consumptions will continue to rise to a certain degree from sectors such as construction, machinery, auto, shipbuilding, petrol chemical, power, coal, transportation, rail, environmental protection, light industry, home appliance and hardware during the next few years, which will offer an effective room for our steel industry to develop.
The notice said it is entirely possible to realize a growth of 10% for GDP in 2007, 20% or more for fixed assets investment, some 20% for trade value of import and export as well as 10% or so for steel consumption. As a result, China is expected to produce crude steel of about 460 million tons and maintain a stable and growing trend in 2007.
Four reasons to constrain the development of the industry:
1. Restrict from rail transportation still exists in certain regions and times.
2. There were 11 countries adopting 27 anti-dumping and counter-subsidy cases against our steel producers in 2006, led to increased trade frictions.
3. Sales policy and pricing system yet to be established, excessive growth in both new and existing capacity exerts certain influence to the operation of the industry.
4. Prices of raw materials such as iron ore, ferroalloy, imported scrap, coal, electricity, oil and freight rate will continue to rise, and increased cost pressure see no let-out.

Liaoning supports near harbor infrastructure construction（2007/02/17）
According to Traffic Bureau of Liaoning Province, the province will make sure to complete an investment of 22.1 billion yuan on infrastructure construction in 2007 and achieve 26.1 billion yuan for the best. Of the total, harbor construction in costal areas will accounts for 8.5 billion yuan, including 62 projects such as Dalian Bay sea-route and seawall as well as a new berth for 300,000 dwt vessel loading imported crude oil in Dalian Bay. The province will positively support near harbor infrastructure construction by a number of industrial enterprises like Angang.
Coastal harbor construction plans aim to realize loading and unloading cargos of 380 million tons and loading and unloading containers of 5.5 million standard pieces. Yingkou port will exceed 100 million tons for loading and unloading cargos and become the second port whose shipment toping 100 million tons in Liaoning province.

Talk of Tax Rebate Cuts Influences Steel Stocks（2007/02/17）
Government proposals to cut tax rebates on exports for some steel products have created further doubt in the stock market at a time when share prices for most Chinese steel companies have been falling.
A possible cut in tax rebates is widely seen as an indication that the government wants to reduce China's trade surplus and alleviate trade conflicts.
Shares in Baosteel, China's largest steelmaker, fell 23 percent in two weeks on the Shanghai Stock Exchange before recovering on Monday to close at 8.7 yuan apiece. Handan Iron & Steel in Hebei Province also fell 11 percent in two weeks to close at 5.6 yuan on Monday. Meanwhile, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dropped 5 percent since last Tuesday to close at 2,807 on Monday.
"The rebate cut, which was triggered by international trade conflicts, contributed to a drop in the stock prices of steel firms," said Yang Baofeng, an analyst at Orient Securities.
However, Yang and other stock analysts remain confident about the longer term prospect of steel companies' shares because of the expected increase in the steel price.
"The impact of the cut will soon wear off due to rising international steel spot prices, " Yang said.
The Chinese government reportedly plans to reduce tax rebates on the export of selected steel products from 11 percent to 5 percent, while completely removing rebates on steel wires and plates. Details of the plan have yet to be announced by the government, but they are widely expected to be released in the first half of this year.
Reports on the rebate cuts came at a time when the stock market was hit by a wave of profit taking. It was another blow to many steel shares, the analysts said.
"The effect of overall correction from the overheated stock market triggered a slump in steel stocks. Prices of some steel companies had gone too high," said Gu Yaoqiang, an analyst at Haitong Securities.
The latest fall in shares could make steel companies more appealing to investors who believe that rising prices for the metal could boost profits for some producers.
Wuhan Steel Processing Co Ltd and Angang Steel Company Limited recently raised their spot steel prices for March by about 5 percent in line with rising international prices.
Yang predicted that stock price weakness would be short term.
Analysts at CITIC Securities agreed and said that the rise of spot steel prices would raise the valuation of steel companies.
China's steel exports jumped 110 percent to 43 million tons, while imports fell 28 percent to 19 million tons in 2006. More than 60 percent of the exports went to the Republic of Korea, the European Union and the United States.
"The large steel price gap between the domestic market and the international market contributed to the increasing steel exports," said Luo Bingsheng, vice-chairman and secretary-general of the China Iron and Steel Association. Luo said that China's steel industry was often threatened by international anti-dumping complaints, but CISA continues to talk with international steel associations to relieve trade conflict. The nation adjusted tax rebates three times since 2005, including a reduction on some selected steel products from 11 percent to 8 percent last September.
"Steel exports in 2007 are expected to be lower or equal to the amount in 2006," Luo added.

Steel Exports Predicted to Decline This year(2007/02/16)
China recorded a double-digit decline in steel exports from December to January and the decline is likely to continue throughout the year, the China Iron and Steel Association said on Tuesday.
Qi Xiangdong, vice secretary-general of China Iron and Steel Association, attributed the downward trend to a slowdown in production and reduction in tax rebates.
Qi predicted that net exports of rolled steel and steel billets would decrease by 10 million tons for the whole year.
According to the General Administration of Customs, China exported 4.38 million tons of steel in January, up 142.2 percent on last year. But the figure decreased by 21 percent from December last year.
In January, the nation imported 1.48 million tons of steel, down 6.2 percent from a year earlier.
Last year China became the world's largest exporter of steel, with an export volume of 43 million tons.

China Pursues Talks over Steel Trade Disputes(2007/02/09)
China is trying to resolve steel trade disputes in discussions with the United States, the European Union and the Republic of Korea, the three major importers of China's steel, said Luo Bingsheng, Vice Chairman and Secretary-general of the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA).
"China has been talking to these countries since last year", said Luo. "We have made legal preparations in case of an anti-dumping move aimed at China."
Luo denied China has dumped its steel to foreign countries at unfairly low prices although its steel exports grew sharply last year.
China's steel industry generated record a 170 billion yuan in gross profits in 2006, up 39.8 billion yuan, or 30.6 percent year on year.
CISA statistics show that China exported 43 million tons of steel last year, up 109.85 percent from the previous year.
More than 60 percent of China's steel exports went to the United States, the European Union and the Republic of Korea, leading to trade disputes between China and those countries.
So far, 11 countries have launched 27 anti-dumping or anti-subsidy investigations against Chinese steel producers, involving a total business volume of US$900 million.
Steel producers in the United States and the American Iron and Steel Institute appealed to U.S. trade officials twice last year, demanding that action be taken against China's alleged subsidies to its steel manufacturers.
"China's steel exports rose on the back of higher demand and a high price on the international market," Luo said. "The price of China's steel is generally consistent with the world market."
He predicted the gross profit of China's steel industry this year would remain at last year's level, but the growth rate of exports may drop slightly as new taxation and industrial policies on energy-and-resources consuming products begin to bite.
"China will export about 10 percent of its steel production this year," said Luo.
Other steel producer countries exported on average 40 percent of their production from 2001 to 2005, said Qi Xiangdong, CISA deputy secretary-general.

China Slows Down Investment in Steel Industry, Shifts Emphasis to High-end Projects(2007/02/07)
Investment on fixed assets in China's iron and steel sector reached 260.3 billion yuan (about US$33 billion) last year, which Luo Bingsheng, vice-chairman of the industry's association, termed excessive.
But he noted growth of the investment has slowed down significantly to 0.81 percent year-on-year last year, 23.69 percentage points lower than the growth of the national total investment on fixed assets.
Luo warned iron and steel enterprises that the country's production capacity has outstripped market demand.
Luo said the emphasis of investment has shifted to high-end projects to produce more value-added products.
China produced 418.78 million tons of crude steel last year, a rise of 18.48 percent year-on-year, and its output of pig iron was 404.17 million tons, up 19.78 percent year-on-year.
China's apparent consumption of crude steel amounted to 384.05 million tons last year, accounting for 30.98 percent of the global total.
Domestically-made steel products accounted for a record 95.82 percent of China's steel market last year, 2.61 percentage points higher than the previous year.
China became the world's largest stainless steel producer last year with an output of 5.3 million tons, up 67.68 percent year-on-year.

Crude Steel Output Up 18% in 2006(2007/01/30)
Crude steel output in China, the world's largest steel producer, surged 18.48 percent year-on-year to reach 418.78 million tons last year, according to the nation's top economic planning agency.
The National Development and Reform Commission said in a report that production of pig iron in China jumped 19.78 percent on the year-on-year basis to 404.17 million tons, while the output of steel products was up 24.45 percent to 466.85 million tons.
The commission said that in spite of macroeconomic policies, the nation's steel sector in China still expanded fast due to huge market demand boosted by the booming economy.
It noted that a large number of illegal and backward steel firms have been established across the country since 2003 to cash in on the huge business opportunities.
The government will focus on restructuring and closing the small, heavy-polluting steel companies and reducing energy consumption in the steel industry in the coming four years through 2010, according to the commission.

Higher Requirements Imposed on Iron Ore Importers（2007/01/26）
The Chinese government will cut the number of iron ore importers to 90 this year in a bid to tighten import rules and curb soaring international prices, the industry association has said.
Up to 20 percent of China's 118 iron ore importers -- 70 steel mills and 48 trading companies -- would go out of business, the China Iron and Steel Association (CSIA) said at the industry meeting held in the southwestern Kunming city.
The government began to cut the number of iron ore importers from 500 in 2005 to curb demand that had fueled price rises.
Industry consolidation was needed to curb the excessive number of importers, said CSIA vice chairman Luo Bingsheng.
The tighter rules require importers to double their minimum registered capital to 20 million yuan and a minimum annual production capacity of crude steel of one million tons.
Importers also have to comply with strict resource saving and environmental requirements, such as the 741.05-kilogram limit on the coal equivalent consumption to produce one kilogram of steel.
Water consumption of per ton of iron is limited to 8.03 tons.
The State Council has ordered closure of furnaces with a maximum volume of 200 cubic meters by the end of 2007.
All outmoded steel mills will be closed by the end of the year, and the deadline is likely to move forward if further price hikes occur.
China is the world's biggest producer and consumer of steel and iron ore imports rose 18.2 percent to a record 325 million tonnes last year.
China's largest steelmaker, the Baosteel Group Corp., settled on a 9.5-percent increase in the iron ore price for 2007 with major Brazilian producer Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD).

China becomes world's largest stainless steel producer（2007/01/24）
China has become the world's largest stainless steel producer with its output exceeding five millions tons in 2006 for the first time, up 60 percent or three million tons from 2005.
The growth more than quadrupled the world average of 14 percent projected by the MEPS, a UK steel consultancy.
The world's total stainless steel output was expected to hit 27.8 million tons last year, about 3.4 million tons more than the previous year.
China's National Development and Reform Commission attributed the production boom to a wealth of projects approved in 2005, involving Taiyuan Steel, Baosteel and Jiuquan Iron and Steel Group.
China's stainless steel production capacity reached 12 million tons by December 2006 with no less than 20 new plants to commence production this year.
World demand for the raw material of stainless steel, nickel, has shot up. Chinese steel plants were expected to consume 200,000 tons of nickel this year and 400,000 tons in next few years, said CRU, a London-based independent consultancy group focusing on metals and energy.

Steel Price Expected to Remain Steady in 2007(2007/01/22)
China will see a balance of supply and demand for steel in 2007, with the steel price remaining close to last year's level, according to a report released Tuesday by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
The average steel price in 2007 is expected to be around 3,800 yuan (about US$507) per ton, slightly higher than last year's 3,737 yuan (about US$498), the report says.
It says that the country's raw steel output in 2007 is projected to be 462 million tons, up 10 percent year-on-year, eight percentage points lower than the growth in 2006.
Domestic steel demand will also grow by about 10 percent, indicating an equilibrium of supply and demand.
The International Iron & Steel Institute (IISI) predicted in an earlier report that the international steel market would see a balanced supply and demand situation in 2007, with steel prices remaining at a relatively high level.
IISI estimates global consumption of steel will reach 1.18 billion tons in 2007, up 5.2 percent on 2006.

China expects steel price to remain steady in 2007（2007/01/19）
China will see a balance of supply and demand for steel in 2007, with the steel price remaining close to last year's level, according to a report released Tuesday by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
The average steel price in 2007 is expected to be around 3,800 yuan (about 507 U.S. dollars) per ton, slightly higher than last year's 3,737 yuan (about 498 U.S. dollars), the report says.
It says that the country's raw steel output in 2007 is projected to be 462 million tons, up 10 percent year-on-year, eight percentage points lower than the growth in 2006.
Domestic steel demand will also grow by about 10 percent, indicating an equilibrium of supply and demand.
The International Iron & Steel Institute (IISI) predicted in an earlier report that the international steel market would see a balanced supply and demand situation in 2007, with steel prices remaining at a relatively high level.
IISI estimates global consumption of steel will reach 1.18 billion tons in 2007, up 5.2 percent on 2006.

Shanxi brought forward general target of metallurgical products and structural adjustment during the 11th Five-Year Plan period（2007/01/17）
According to Shanxi Province Metallurgical Industry Development Plan during the 11th Five-Year Plan period, by 2010 the province would be in a position to produce pig iron of 8 million tons, crude steel of 8 million tons, finished steel of 9 million tons, iron concentrate of 5 million tons, metallurgical coke of 8 million tons and ferroalloy of 300,000 tons, achieve industrial gross value of 30 billion yuan and industrial added value of 5 billion yuan. The general idea of industry structural adjustment is to control gross volume, improve layout, enhance quality, lower consumption, reduce pollution and gain benefit.
In order to boost the structure of product, technology and investment, Shanxi banned adopting backward process, technology and facilities to produce outdated products and maintained proper growth in iron- and steel-making capacity according to entry permission as regards to controlling gross volume; quickened the development of special and premium steel based on regional advantage and rapid growth demands from heavy auto, power facility, oil and gas transportation and engineering machinery in the light of quality; shifted production capacity and gradually reduced numbers of steel producers through acquisition, consolidation and elimination in terms of improving layout.
The purpose of structural adjustment in metallurgical products in the province is to enlarge product ranges, enhance product grade and added value, achieve changes from lower value and single materials such as pig iron, billet, construction steel and coking coal to high-speed wire, premium shapes, sheet/strip, pipeline and chemicals as well as focus on products with promising market, high-tech contained, high value added, strong competition and being capable of scale producing like hot and cold rebar with high strength 400Mpa, hot rolled sheet/coil, high-speed wire, premium steel wire and products, compound materials, materials with new function and parts, high precision wide cold rolled thin strip, methanol, fine benzene, components of blast furnaces, continuous casting facilities and rolling mills.

Steel industry in Liaoning Province brought forward 6 weatherproofed measures(2007/01/11)
Liaoning Province Industry Economy conference released a guideline for the development of local metallurgical industry in 2007 on January 5, 2007. The province is expected to produce pig iron of 39 million tons, crude steel of 39 million, finished steel of 41 million tons and 10 non-ferrous metals of 500,000 tons in 2007, and complete industrial added value of 85 billion yuan as well as achieved revenue of 30 billion yuan including 16 billion yuan of profit.
Six measures should be attached to great importance for the whole year of 2007:
1. To manage economic operation and ensure a healthy development of the metallurgical industry;
2. To expedite the construction of key projects and make sure new projects complying with targets;
3. To advance technology innovation and struggle to realize optimization and upgrading for product structure;
4. To aggressively encourage recycling economy;
5. To quicken the pace to eliminate backward capacity;
6. To spread the steel industry chain and develop industry group.