News

II. International Trade: Record-High Export Volume Coexists with Trade Barriers

• Surge in Export Data: According to data from the General Administration of Customs, China’s export volume of steel billets reached 1.76 million tons in August, a month-on-month increase of 12% and a year-on-year surge of 230%. The cumulative export volume from January to August reached 9.24 million tons, with a year-on-year increase of 292%, constantly refreshing historical records.
• Escalating Trade Frictions: On September 10, Egypt launched a safeguard measure investigation into imported steel products such as steel billets and cold-rolled coils, which may pose new barriers to China’s steel exports. Prior to this, a number of countries had initiated anti-dumping or countervailing investigations against Chinese steel products.

III. Technological Innovation: AI Large Models Become the Focus of Intelligent Transformation

On September 18, during the Huawei Connect 2025 conference, the Roundtable on Intelligent Transformation of the Iron, Steel and Non-Ferrous Metals Industry revealed a number of technological breakthroughs:

• Application of Industry-Specific Large Models: Chinalco Group’s “Kun’an” large model (the first AI large model in the non-ferrous metals field) has been applied in 18 scenarios across 8 major fields including mining and smelting; Nanjing Iron and Steel Group’s “Yuanye” iron and steel large model (the first industrial large model in the special steel field) has realized the full-process intelligence of R&D and production through a multi-model collaborative architecture, promoting the transformation from “experience-based steelmaking” to “technology-based steelmaking”.
• Deepening Technological Cooperation: Huawei has jointly launched “AI + Iron and Steel” solutions with a number of steel enterprises. Relying on Ascend computing power and Pangu large model technology, these solutions connect the entire process scenarios such as sintering and ironmaking, forming a closed loop from data to intelligent applications.

IV. Market Trends: Volatile and Differentiated Prices, Subpar Demand in Peak Season

• Price Fluctuations: The price of ordinary billets in Qian’an, Tangshan has been continuously raised recently, reaching 3,030 yuan/ton (including tax) on September 15, with a cumulative increase of 110 yuan/ton compared with the beginning of September. However, according to the Lange Iron and Steel Index, the national absolute steel price index in mid-September was 3,568 yuan. Although it increased slightly by 0.4% month-on-month, the release of demand in the traditional peak season was less than expected, resulting in a market pattern of “strong supply and weak demand”.
• Performance of Futures and Stock Market: The main contract of rebar closed at 3,172 yuan/ton in mid-September, with a weekly increase of about 0.8%, but the position decreased by 30,000 lots, and the long-short game slowed down. The A-share iron and steel industry index has fluctuated downward since September, closing at 816.19 points on September 23, a decrease of 4.2% compared with the beginning of September.