(Add details, updates with closing prices)
BEIJING, Jan. 15 (Reuters) – Chinese steel ingredient times hit Friday, with cooking coal yielding nearly 7% and coke up 4.7%, as new restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19 diseases prevented on mills from replenishing raw materials, keeping fear of tight supply.
Hebei’s main steel department had confirmed 90 new cases for January 14. Local government had strengthened controls to prevent further transfers to other locations.
The loops affected the transport of some steel ingredients, mainly coal and coke sent through lorries. Research from advisory group Mysteel showed that 36% of mills in Tangshan have coke deposits for less than seven days, raising supply issues.
Capacity utilization rates at 126 blast furnaces in Tangshan fell to 78.84% this week, down 1.72% from a week earlier, according to Mysteel.
The most commercial cooking coal futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange, for delivery in May, rose as much as 6.8% to 1,767 Yuan ($ 273.23) per ton, before ending at 4.4% stronger at 1,727 Yuan.
Coke futures closed 1.5% higher at 2,775 Yuan. It rose 4.7% earlier in the session.
Significant iron ore times rose 1.5% to 1,053 yuan per ton, while spot prices of 62% iron ore rose by $ 1 to $ 172.5 per ton Thursday. SH-CCN-IRNOR62
PROPERTY
* Construction steel rubber on the Shanghai Futures Exchange gained 1.9% to 4,360 Yuan per tonne.
* Hot-rolled coil rose 1.4% at 4,489 Yuan.
* Steel deposits at mills and by traders stood at 15.2 million tons, as of January 14, up 5.5% from the previous week.
* Shanghai stainless steel futures, for delivery in March, closed 0.7% higher to 13,970 Yuan per ton.
* Prices for China’s new homes rose moderately in December, official data showed Friday, as government measures aimed at cooling the real estate market took off.
$ 1 = 6.4671 Chinese Yuan Reporting by Min Zhang and Shivani Singh, Edited by Sherry Jacob-Phillips