Steel Market Pulse | Policy Boosts Sentiment, Reality Still Waits To Catch Up

This week, the market's focus was centered on the latest macroeconomic data and related industrial policies. Boosted by a series of "pro-growth" policy signals, sentiment in the capital market was the first to improve, with steel futures briefly leading the rally. However, the transmission of these policy benefits to end-user demand will take time. Consequently, the spot market remained relatively calm, and supply-demand fundamentals showed only limited improvement. The market is now closely monitoring the on-the-ground implementation of these policies and their actual impact on stimulating downstream activity.

• China Iron and Steel Association: Key Steel Enterprises' Daily Crude Steel Output Reaches 214,100 Tons in Mid-July; Daily Steel Output Hits 208,000 Tons; Daily Pig Iron Output Stands at 194,400 Tons.

   In mid-July, key steel enterprises in China reported a daily crude steel output of 214,100 tons, a daily steel output of 208,000 tons,     and a daily pig iron output of 194,400 tons, according to the China Iron and Steel Association.

• Baosteel Co., Ltd. Achieves Breakthrough in Overseas Market for Seamless Hydrogen Pipeline Tubes, Secures First Order for Seamless Hydrogen Pipeline Tubes in Australia. In early July 2025, China's steel giant Baosteel Co., Ltd. announced that its independently developed high-performance seamless anti-corrosion hydrogen pipeline tubes successfully passed the stringent review by international clients of an Australian hydrogen pipeline project. It secured the first order for seamless hydrogen pipeline tubes in Australia, marking a breakthrough in China's overseas market for hydrogen pipeline tubes.

• Natural disasters: In recent days, heavy rains have caused severe flooding in areas surrounding Tianjin, seriously affecting the storage of factory goods and other operations.

• South Korea will impose a 29.89% tariff on hot-rolled steel plates from Baosteel, and the maximum tariff rate on hot-rolled steel plates from Japan will reach 33.57%.

• The Russian government announced that it will ban the use of WhatsApp nationwide starting from September 1, which means the final usage period is only one month. Once the deadline arrives, all servers will no longer function normally.

• U.S. President Donald Trump stated that the United States is expected to impose tariffs ranging from 15% to 20% on countries that have not reached trade agreements with Washington.

• Hot-rolled coil buyers in Vietnam are avoiding imports and turning to domestic supplies instead. The quotation for China-produced Q235 grade hot-rolled coils with a width of 2 meters and a thickness of 3-12 millimeters has surged from $470-$473 per ton CFR on July 18 to $493-$495 per ton CFR.