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Profits up in May for Cisa member mills

Profits of member mills of the China Iron & Steel Assn (Cisa) rose in May, as the drop in iron ore costs outpaced those of finished steel products.

June 25, 2014
By Generic people page

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Net profits totalled 2.85 billion yuan ($462 million) last month, up 132% month-on-month, according to data published on Tuesday June 24.

Market sources generally attributed the profit gain to the slump in iron ore prices as Steel First outlined in a previous analysis.

Metal Bulletin’s monthly average index for 62% Fe seaborne iron ore was $101.09 per tonne cfr China in May, compared with $114.90 in April, representing a decrease of 12% on the month.

Meanwhile, eastern Chinese rebar prices averaged 3,125 yuan ($507) per tonne last month, down just 4.5% from April. May’s average hot rolled coil prices in the region even climbed by around 6 yuan ($1) per tonne on the month, according to Steel First price archives.

During January-May of this year, Cisa member mills reached a total profit of 1.75 billion yuan ($285 million), a return to profit from the losses in the first four months, although still seeing the profit down 46.6% from the same period of last year.