The Small-diameter Seamless Steel Pipe Market Is "crazy" Again under The Boost of News

The 20G high-pressure boiler tube market, which had been fluctuating and consolidating, saw prices surge again, boosted by news, with a single-day price increase of 80-120 yuan/ton. The last time such a significant increase occurred was in early August, also driven by the coal-to-gas policy, marking the official arrival of the "Golden September, Silver October" season for the steel market.

This strong news boosted production. On the 14th, all billet-making and rolling mills in Tangshan's Fengrun District halted operations due to an environmental inspection, including some that had already completed the coal-to-gas conversion. The planned shutdown is expected to take 30-45 days. Only a few major steel mills in Tangshan are fully stocked, leaving some finished products in short supply. As a result, Tangshan steel prices have risen sharply, leading to brisk market activity and increased reluctance to sell.

According to the 2017 Plan, staggered production during the heating season will be implemented across eight industries this year. Classified management will be implemented within the steel industry, with staggered and limited production suspension plans formulated based on pollution emission performance. Key cities such as Shijiazhuang, Tangshan, Handan, and Anyang will limit steel production capacity to 50% during the heating season, based on blast furnace output and verified by actual electricity consumption.

At the same time, the state requires the "2+26" cities (Beijing, Tianjin, and 26 cities in Hebei, Shanxi, Shandong, and Henan, located along the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei air pollution transmission corridor) to thoroughly screen key vehicle-using enterprises involved in the transportation of bulk raw materials and products, such as those in the steel, coking, nonferrous metals, power, and chemical industries. This will clarify the ratio of production capacity to raw material transportation, and, based on industry-specific staggered production requirements, formulate a "factory-by-factory" staggered transportation implementation plan for the heating season. It's not difficult to see that staggered production during the heating season by industrial enterprises in the "2+26" cities will be a significant driver of rising commodity prices.