In late December 2020, China's Inner Mongolia began issuing a series of policies to restrict its metallurgical sector in an attempt to control its energy consumption. Affected industries include coal, aluminium, ferro-alloys and semi-coke among others.
Fastmarkets rounds up the latest policies issued by the autonomous region and the effects seen in markets up until Monday March 8.
December 20
The Development and Reform Commission in China's Inner Mongolia region releases
a draft proposing a series of measures related to the metallurgical sector to ensure dual control of the total amount and intensity of energy consumption.
January 8
The Ulanqab Industrial and Information Technology Bureau orders small furnaces with a power consumption of 250,000 KiloVolt-Ampere (kVA) and below to be idled. It also imposes a restriction on the use of large-sized furnaces.
The city of Ulanqab is a major ferro-alloy production hub in Inner Mongolia.
January 21
Due to the shrinking availability of ferro-chrome, Chinese leading stainless steel producers
increase their ferro-chrome tender prices for February delivery by $340 per tonne month on month, to the highest level since October 2017.
February 4
Inner...