Stainless steel manufacturers in China stop production
Stainless steel makers in China's southwestern province of Guangxi are halting production as revenues have fallen below costs in a falling market. Half of all enterprises in the region announced the start of annual maintenance of rolling facilities, which means a reduction in the output of stainless steel products from 50 to 100 thousand tons.
China's stainless steel production declined 3.9 percent year on year in the first months of 2019, indicating a lack of measures to stimulate domestic demand. China's stainless steel imports in April were down 77 percent from a month earlier.
It is expected that prices may show some growth only in the second half of the year, as the Chinese government continues to provide economic support to its domestic industries, but it is not yet known how the consequences of the aggravation of the trade war with the United States will affect the economic growth of the PRC.