CISA: Large and medium-sized Chinese metallurgists see 5.1% drop in gross profit in the first quarter of 2026

On April 29, Jiang Wei, Vice President of the Chinese Association of Ferrous Metallurgy (CISA), said that the total operating revenue of large and medium-sized metallurgical enterprises in China - all CISA members - amounted to 1.4895 trillion in January-March of this year. yuan ($0.22 trillion), which is 1.2% more than in the previous year, while gross profit was 21.7 billion. YUAN ($3.2 billion) in the current period, which is 5.1% less than in the previous year.

A CISA representative said that rising oil prices had led to higher mining costs and freight rates amid heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Despite the fact that iron ore reserves in ports reached a historic high of 170 million tons in April, prices for imported iron ore continued to fluctuate in a limited range of $105-110/ton.

A survey conducted by CISA among its member enterprises showed that 60 percent of companies surveyed expect steel demand to likely grow quarter-on-quarter in the second quarter of this year, with most maintaining an optimistic outlook for the market going forward.