The hot metal cost for blast furnace-based steel production in Asia reached almost $320 per tonne in February, supported by high iron ore and coking coal prices despite the onset of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) pandemic in China.
The high raw materials costs caused hot metal-steel spreads to reach a low of $137.98 per tonne and $110.39 per tonne for hot-rolled coil and rebar respectively even while sentiment started souring in the Chinese export markets.The ferrous scrap-billet spread peaked at...