OREANDA-NEWS. April 26, 2012. Domestic steelmakers are feeling the pinch from the economic transformation as China GDP growth has slowed down for the fifth consecutive quarter since the fourth quarter of 2010.

SGIS Songshan, Ansteel, Valin Steel and Shougang all have forecast Q1 losses, ranging from 167 million yuan for Shougang to 1.89 billion yuan for Ansteel.

 They unanimously blamed weak demand, sharp decline in transaction values and stronger raw material costs. With the Steel PMI rebounded greatly in March, domestic steelmakers began raising their ex-works offers.