China’s electric-arc furnace (EAF) mills have gradually raised their production rates in the past three weeks following stronger demand for steel products. But this higher output is unlikely to lower billet imports into the country, according to market sources. They expect this trade flow to persist as long as the arbitrage window stays open. Production rates for EAFs - which largely produce long steel products - are easier to adjust than those for blast furnaces. And although the latter also produces long steel, any change in the production rates for EAFs have a significant effect on supply in the market, according to industry analysts.
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