Posted on 13 Dec 2024
Inventories of the five major carbon steel products held by the Chinese steel mills sampled in Mysteel's regular survey declined again during December 6-12, with the total tonnage down for the third consecutive week by another 3.7% on week at 3.63 million tonnes, the lowest since Mysteel launched the survey in May 2015.
The five steel items comprise rebar, wire rod, hot-rolled coil (HRC), cold-rolled coil (CRC) and medium plate. During the survey period, stocks of rebar, wire rod and CRC slipped steadily, while those of HRC and medium plate accumulated to some extent, the findings showed.
The continuous fall in total steel stocks held by the Chinese mills was partly due to the restrained production of finished steel during the survey period, as thinning profit margins led some mills to slow their run-rates or conduct maintenance on their steelmaking facilities.
In parallel, steel consumption from end-users in southern China was relatively steady, which lent some support to the steel market overall, Mysteel Global learned. However, steel demand in the domestic market has been shrinking gradually as winter slows construction activity and logistics.
Finished steel sales in the physical market declined this week, with the daily trading volume of construction steel comprising rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil among the 237 trading houses nationwide under Mysteel's regular tracking reaching 108,277 tonnes/day on average, lower by 14,483 t/d from the prior week.
Domestic steel prices strengthened this week as the market has responded positively to news that the central government may release additional proactive policies to boost economic growth, Mysteel Global noted.
As of December 11, the national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar, a pointer to domestic steel-market sentiment, was assessed by Mysteel at Yuan 3,522/tonne ($485/t) including the 13% VAT, higher by Yuan 36/t from one week before.
On Wednesday, the most-traded rebar contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange for May delivery closed the daytime trading session at Yuan 3,413/t, up by Yuan 10/t from the settlement price on December 4.
Inventories of the five major steel products at traders' warehouses in the 132 cities nationwide under Mysteel's regular survey totalled 13.2 million tonnes over December 6-12, slipping for the tenth straight week by another 1.6% on week, the survey results showed.
Source:Mysteel Global
