I. Steel Industry Production Status

II. National Iron Ore Production Status

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, in May 2020, large-scale enterprises produced 74.642 million tons of iron ore, an increase of 8.1% year-on-year and 0.4% month-on-month; from January to May, 336.967 million tons of iron ore were produced, an increase of 4.1% year-on-year. According to the China Metallurgical Mining Enterprises Association, the national iron concentrate output in May was 23.58 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 1.8% and a month-on-month increase of 4.1%; from January to May, 105.34 million tons of iron concentrate were produced, a year-on-year decrease of 1.0%.

III. Iron Ore Imports

According to the General Administration of Customs, in May 2020, 87.026 million tons of iron ore were imported, a year-on-year increase of 3.9% and a month-on-month decrease of 9.0%; the average import price was 87.44 yuan/ton, a month-on-month decrease of 2.1%. From January to May, 445.306 million tons of iron ore were imported, a year-on-year increase of 5.1%; the average import price was US$89.98/ton, a year-on-year increase of 3.3%.

IV. Iron Ore Supply and Demand

From January to May, a total of 355.986 million tons of pig iron were produced nationwide, a year-on-year increase of 1.5%; the domestic iron ore output was 336.967 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 4.1%; the iron ore import volume was 445.306 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 5.1%, and the iron ore supply increased slightly more than the demand year-on-year. At the end of May, the inventory of imported ore at ports nationwide fell to 107.84 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 16.14 million tons and a month-on-month decrease of 6.14 million tons compared to the end of April. Based on the above data, the current iron ore supply growth is slightly greater than the demand growth, and there are signs of easing in the tight market balance.

V. Iron Ore Prices

In May, the average monthly tax-inclusive price of domestic iron concentrate (62%) was 698.51 yuan/ton, an increase of 8.87 yuan/ton compared to the previous month, an increase of 1.3%. The lowest price of the month was 685.27 yuan/ton at the beginning of the month, and the highest price was 715.54 yuan/ton at the end of the month, an increase of 4.4% from the beginning of the month; compared with the average tax-inclusive price of the same period last year, it increased by 6.5%. The cumulative average tax-inclusive price from January to May was 702.05 yuan/ton, a year-on-year increase of 64.79 yuan/ton, an increase of 10.1%.

In May, the average monthly arrival price of imported fine powder ore was US$91.57/ton, an increase of US$8.39/ton compared to the previous month, an increase of 10.1%. The lowest price of the month was US$82.91/ton at the beginning of the month, and the highest price was US$98.95/ton at the end of the month, with a maximum monthly increase of 19.3%. Compared with the average arrival price of the same period last year, it decreased by 6.2%. From January to May, the cumulative average price of imported fine powder ore was US$87.83/ton, a year-on-year increase of US$1.43/ton, an increase of 1.7%.

VI. Fixed Asset Investment in the Ferrous Metal Mining and Selection Industry

From January to May, the growth rate of fixed asset investment in the national mining industry decreased by 8.7%. Among them, the investment growth rate in the ferrous metal mining and selection industry decreased by 4.7%, the decrease widened by 3.5 percentage points year-on-year, and the decrease narrowed by 8.3 percentage points month-on-month compared to the January-April period; private investment in the ferrous metal mining and selection industry increased by 13%, and the growth rate turned from a decrease to an increase year-on-year, increasing by 22 percentage points. Overall, from January to May, the investment willingness in the ferrous metal mining and selection industry was not strong, and investment confidence remained insufficient.

VII. Main Financial Indicators of the Ferrous Metal Mining and Selection Industry

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, from January to May, the operating revenue of the ferrous metal mining and selection industry was 135.91 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 1.0%; the operating cost was 109.19 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 1.4%; and the total profit was 10.18 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 20.9%.

VIII. Operation of Key Monitored Enterprises

1. Product Output

In May 2020, the large and medium-sized mining enterprises monitored by the China Metallurgical Mining Enterprises Association produced 31.1806 million tons of iron ore, accounting for 41.8% of the national total output, with a month-on-month increase of 3.3% compared to the same period last year; from January to May, a total of 150.01 million tons were produced, an increase of 5.5% compared to the same period last year. The monthly output growth rate of key enterprises was 4.8 percentage points lower than the national output growth rate, and the cumulative output growth rate from January to May was 1.4 percentage points higher than the national output growth rate. In May, the large and medium-sized mining enterprises monitored by the association produced 9.872 million tons of iron concentrate, a year-on-year increase of 3.9%; from January to May, 47.094 million tons of iron concentrate were produced, a year-on-year increase of 3%.

2. Business Conditions

In May, the main business income of the large and medium-sized mining enterprises monitored by the association was 6.686 billion yuan, and the main business income of the same period last year was 6.348 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.3%; the total profit was 1.482 billion yuan, a decrease of 24.8% compared to 1.971 billion yuan in the same period last year. From January to May, the main business income of the large and medium-sized mining enterprises monitored was 33.443 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.2%; and the total profit was 6.779 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 20.2%.

3. Financial Status

(1) Financial Expenses ： In May, the financial expenses of the large and medium-sized mining enterprises monitored by the association were 276 million yuan, an increase of 12.6% compared to 245 million yuan in the same period last year; from January to May, the financial expenses were 1.104 billion yuan, a decrease of 5.1% compared to 1.163 billion yuan in the same period last year, and the cost of capital use decreased significantly compared to last year.

(2) Asset-Liability Ratio: At the end of May, the asset-liability ratio of the large and medium-sized mining enterprises monitored by the association was 48.5%, a year-on-year decrease of 6 percentage points.

4. Cost Status