January 23, Beijing (Reuters) - Tuesday saw an increase in iron ore futures to a level not seen in over a week as investor confidence was bolstered by officials in China, the world's largest buyer, pledging to stabilise the market.

At 965.5 yuan ($134.70) a metric tonne, the most-traded May iron ore contract on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) DCIOcv1 closed daytime trading 1.42% higher, reaching its highest level since January 12.

By 07:24 GMT, the benchmark February iron ore SZZFG4 on the Singapore Exchange had increased by 2.01% to $131.55 per tonne, the most since January 12.

In the wake of a decline in Chinese stocks, state broadcaster CCTV claimed on Monday that China will take more robust and effective steps to boost market confidence, citing a cabinet meeting.

According to Reuters, China's main state-owned banks moved on Monday to support the yuan and keep it from depreciating too quickly.

This action followed Beijing's decision last week to maintain the rate on its medium-term lending facility, which indicated Beijing's constrained leeway for monetary easing in the face of yuan pressure. Beijing maintained benchmark lending rates unchanged at its monthly fixing on Monday.

Beijing, anticipating weaker economic development, has set a growth target of about 5% for 2024, exceeding the aim of over 4.5% set last year.

At its steel manufacturing facility in Angul, Odisha, Jindal Steel & Power Ltd. announced on Friday that its 6 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) hot strip mill has been put into service.

The hot strip mill's opening is crucial to the business's entry into the flat goods industry.

The company released a statement stating that the hot strip mill generated the first set of coils on January 10 and that the mill was commissioned in a record-breaking 29 months. Delivery of the coils took place on January 15.

It went on, "The host strop mill is equipped with advanced features like transfer bar cooling, edge heater, coil box and heat shields, ensuring top-notch flatness, uniform mechanical properties and production of superior value-added grades. It can produce coils that are 1.00 mm thick and 1,680 mm wide."

Products are used in industries like automotive, building, energy, downstream cold rolling, galvanising, and colour painting.

Shortly after his arrival back in Delhi, the prime minister of India, Narendra Modi, announced on Monday that the government has decided to launch the 'Pradhanmantri Surydaya Yojana,' an initiative to generate electricity using solar energy, at the "historic" Ayodhya Ram Mandir in Uttar Pradesh.

"All the devotees of the world always get energy from the light of Suryavanshi Lord Shri Ram. Today, on the auspicious occasion of consecration in Ayodhya, my resolution got further strengthened that the people of India should have their own solar rooftop system on the roof of their houses," Prime Minister Modi posted on X. 

In an engaging conversation with students at the PB Siddhartha College of Arts and Science on Monday, P.M. Prasad, the chairman and managing director (CMD) of Coal India Limited (CIL), stated that India is headed in the right direction towards achieving energy security.

He continued, "We are putting a lot of effort into achieving this aim. According to Mr. Prasad, efforts are being made to enhance the quality of coal and creative approaches to coal distribution, exploration, and extraction are being developed.

According to him, they have also started taking steps to meet Net Zero emission goals, restore field areas that were affected by coal mining, and use sustainable business practices.

“Despite being the second largest producer of coal, we are importing it from other countries because it is not sufficient. We are working towards reducing the imports,” he said, adding that the country is lagging behind in explorations and needs to set aside more funds to explore new reserves.

Tata Steel has announced today that, as part of its plan to reorganise and develop its UK business, it will begin statutory consultation. With the help of this plan, the over ten years of losses will be reversed, and the old blast furnaces will give way to a more environmentally friendly, sustainable steel industry. In addition to preserving the nation's steelmaking self-sufficiency and preserving the majority of Tata Steel UK's current product capabilities, the transformation would also cut CO2 emissions at the company by 5 million tonnes annually and overall emissions in the UK by roughly 1.5%.

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ürkiye’s industrial giants Erdemir and Isdemir pledged Thursday to invest $3.2 billion (TL 96.3 billion) to curb carbon emissions, aiming to achieve a 25% cut by 2030 and eventually increase the production capacity through these investments.

Under the plan announced on Thursday, the Erdemir integrated steel mill is set to reduce coal consumption by using biomass and natural gas, while the company builds new electric arc furnaces at its facilities in southern and northern Türkiye, said Serdar Basoglu, chief financial officer of controlling shareholder OYAK Mining Metallurgy.

According to the information provided by Basoglu, with the investments to be made, the total crude steel capacity of Erdemir and Isdemir, which is currently at 9.5 million tons, is expected to increase to 13.5 million tons.

Basoglu added that Erdemir's goal is to reduce scope 1 and 2 emissions by 40% by 2040 and become carbon neutral by 2050, three years before the country's target date for carbon neutrality.

The electric arc furnace to be installed at Erdemir is set to have an annual capacity of 1.4 million tons, while the one to be installed at Isdemir would have a capacity of 2.5 million tons.

The emission-reduction plans of Erdemir and Isdemir, both controlled by the OYAK military pension fund, envisage over 70% of the required investment being financed by foreign resources, Basoglu said.

The company could also consider issuing foreign currency bonds, he said.

"We plan to use mainly foreign financing sources with sustainability conditions for the projects. The plan and net zero emission target determined by our companies for green transformation will both be a role model for our country's iron and steel industry and will direct the sector's future," OYAK General Manager Süleyman Savas Erdem said.

Erdemir, which generates a significant portion of its electricity from gases and heat released during manufacturing, plans to establish a solar power plant with a capacity of around 1,000 MW by 2025 to source all of its external electricity from renewable sources.

Following voter defiance against Beijing's warnings and a landslide victory in the election, Taiwan's president-elect, Lai Ching-te, warned on Saturday to protect the self-governing island from "intimidation" by China. After a boisterous effort in which he positioned himself as a defender of Taiwan's democratic way of life, Lai—whom Beijing has described as a threat to peace in the hotspot region—secured an unprecedented third consecutive term for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the poll on Saturday. 

The democratic Taiwan, which is divided from the mainland by a strait measuring 180 kilometers (110 miles), is claimed by Communist China, which is willing to use force to achieve "unification" even in the absence of an immediate threat to peace.

Prior to the election, Beijing labeled Lai a "severe danger" and advised people to avoid him. On Saturday, the city said that the outcome would not halt "the inevitable trend of China's reunification".

At a steel mill in the Gujarati district of Kutch, Anjar town, molten metal flowed out of a furnace and landed on workers, injuring at least seven of them, four of them critically, according to authorities.
When the event happened in the morning, some employees were loading the furnace with metal scrap. "Seven workmen were hurt when molten metal from the furnace dropped on them. They were moved to Gandhidham Hospital. Due to the critical nature of their conditions, four of them were referred to Ahmedabad for additional care, according to Kutch (East) Superintendent of Police Sagar Bagmar.

On Monday, Tata Steel Ltd announced that the plan to merge with The Tinplate Company of India Limited is now live as of January 15. In accordance with the amalgamation plan, Tata Steel had previously approved Friday, January 19, 2024, as the record date for the purpose of identifying The Tinplate Company of India shareholders who would be eligible to receive fully paid-up ordinary equity shares of Tata Steel in the share exchange ratio.  

The Tinplate Company of India Limited notified stock exchanges in a separate filing that, as a result of the merger, it has been merged into and with Tata Steel and dissolved without being wound up on and from the effective date. As a result, the key managerial personnel (KMP) of TCIL will no longer hold their positions and be the KMPs of TCIL.

The company and TCIL have today, January 15, 2024, filed the certified copies of the NCLT Mumbai Order and NCLT Kolkata Order, respectively, with the Ministry of Justice. This is to notify you that, having satisfied all the requirements outlined in Clause 9.1(h) (Definition of Effective Date) read with Clause 22 (Scheme conditional upon) of the Scheme of Amalgamation. 

Accordingly, the Scheme of Amalgamation has been operational as of right now, January 15, 2024 (the "Effective Date"), in accordance with Clause 8 (Effectiveness of the Scheme) read with Clause 9.1(h) (Definition of Effective Date) of the Scheme of Amalgamation. According to the Scheme of Amalgamation, on and from the Effective Date, TCIL stands dissolved without being wound up and amalgamated into and with the Company," Tata Steel continued.

The steel industry, which is concerned about increased imports of steel, anticipates that the government will implement a mechanism in the next interim budget to assist in controlling cheap imports. During the first nine months of the current fiscal year (April through December), the nation became a net importer of finished steel, with imports totaling 5.6 million tonnes (mt) and exports totaling 4.7mt. This shift occurred in November. Stainless steel, alloyed steel, and non-alloyed steel are all considered finished steel.
It is going to become a major issue since the data for December show that the difference between imports and exports is still growing. We have filed a petition with the government, asking them to, at minimum, implement a system that makes sure the imports don't go unchecked. We anticipate something along those lines.

The world's largest steel factory is located in Gujarat: Mittal, Lakshmi Niwas
Gandhinagar: Lakshmi Niwas Mittal, the chairman of the international steel company, stated on Wednesday that ArcelorMittal's Hazira steel facility, which has a 24 million-ton production capacity, will be the largest steel plant in the world when its second phase is finished by 2029. At the Summit, Mittal stated that the plant's first phase is anticipated to be finished by 2026. The steel mogul from the UK also emphasized that Arcelor Mittal invests in green hydrogen and renewable energy in addition to steel.

Over the past six months, JSW Steel Ltd.'s shares have experienced flat returns. The stock has only increased by 3% throughout this time, whereas the Sensex has increased by 9.68%. Investors in the top steel maker are uncertain about the future of the steel company due to the modest returns in the last six months. The yearly returns of 9% on JSW Steel shares have also not been particularly appealing. For up to a year, the steel stock has not produced double-digit returns. However, the steel sector stock has climbed 106% in three years. The JSW Steel shares closed flat at Rs 821.75 in the previous session on the BSE, down from the previous finish of Rs 828.80. A total of 0.27 lakh of the company's shares were altered.

According to an official, the departments of mines, steel, and the department for promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT) will establish an internal system to keep an eye on the export of goods made of steel and aluminium to the US at reduced prices.

Previous duties on Indian exports of these goods were levied by the US because, in 2018, Washington imposed import duties of 25% on steel products and 10% on some aluminium products on the grounds of national security. India increased customs duties on 28 American products in June 2019 as payback.

In exchange for New Delhi's decision to lift retaliatory duties on eight American products, including apple and walnut, the US is now permitting these imports from India without having to pay the additional 25% and 10% of the duties.

The official added that in order to facilitate domestic exports to the United States of at least 3.36 lakh tonnes of specific steel and aluminium products annually without incurring additional duties, the two nations have decided to establish a cooperative monitoring mechanism.
The US has expressed approval of the proposed language, and the Department of Commerce has finalised the terms of reference for the joint monitoring mechanism (JMM), which will allow domestic exports of specific steel and aluminium products to the US duty-free.

"Ministries of mines, steel and DPIIT have been requested to establish an internal monitoring mechanism to monitor export of steel and aluminium products to the US specifically under US 232 measure," said the official.

Officials will review the arrangements twice a year, in accordance with the mechanism.

Any obstacles or issues encountered by Indian exporters would be reported to the commerce ministry and discussed with the United States during joint monitoring mechanism (JMM) meetings.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's June visit to the two nations last year resulted in an agreement to eliminate trade barriers, which included resolving six trade disputes at the WTO.

These seven disputes have been mutually resolved, and India has chosen to lift the additional tariffs imposed in 2019 on eight US products, including apples, lentils, and chickpeas.

In exchange, the US has consented to give some Indian steel and aluminium products more market access; this move is expected to contribute to a rise in the export of these goods. In accordance with the Trade Expansion Act of 1962's Section 232 exclusion procedure, the US has consented to open its markets to steel and aluminium products.

Opportunities for Indian steel and aluminium exporters have been restored by this market access. Prior to June 14, 2018, these exporters faced restrictions due to the US 232 measure, which imposed additional duties on steel and aluminium products, respectively.

India exported USD 1.21 billion worth of steel and aluminium to the US in 2018, which was impacted by the additional tariffs. A total of USD 241 million was levied as a result of additional US tariffs on exports.

By the end of 2019, the US and Canada had resolved a comparable dispute. Although imports of steel and aluminium from these nations were exempt from the additional tariffs known as the Section 232 tariff, the agreement included stringent oversight and a safeguard against sharp increases in imports of these materials.

In Delhi, India, the Indian Minister of Steel, Jyotiraditya Scindia, had a recent meeting with Yasutoshi Nishimura, the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). They talked about the cooperation between the two nations in the growth and decarbonisation of the steel sector.
With 125 million tonnes (mnt) of crude steel produced in 2022, India will rank second in the world. It is anticipated to grow to 300 mnt in the future due to economic growth. Foreign investment is essential to the development of the Indian steel industry, as demonstrated by Japan's plans to invest in this sector. The possible joint venture between Japan Steel and ArcelorMittal to expand their facilities in India is one instance of this. Both governments have committed to helping Japanese businesses with these kinds of investments.

Leading nations in the steel sector, India and Japan, are collaborating to advance decarbonisation. Together, they will push the Global Data Collection Framework (GDCF) for steel, which was decided upon at the G7 summit, and grow the market for green steel. The goal of this collaboration is to speed up initiatives to lower carbon emissions in the steel sector. Furthermore, India and Japan will work together to raise awareness of the GDCF within their respective steel sectors.

Establishing a system for calculating carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the steel sector is one of the GDCF's challenges. India and Japan will collaborate to address this issue and develop practical methods for measuring emissions. This will help achieve the overall objective of the steel industry's decarbonisation.

The definition of green steel and market expansion will be the next priorities after a technique for calculating CO2 emissions is established. Japan wants India's assistance in order to push market expansion and encourage the use of steel that is less harmful to the environment.