Retail stocks of the five major carbon steel items held by the Chinese traders that Mysteel regularly checks declined slightly on-week during August 28-September 3, according to the results of Mysteel's latest weekly survey.
As of September 3, the combined inventories of rebar, wire rod, hot-rolled coil (HRC), cold-rolled coil (CRC) and medium plate held by traders in the 132 cities Mysteel monitors had edged down by 0.5% or by 95,300 tonnes on week to 19.2 million tonnes, the survey results revealed.
By product, stocks of rebar, HRC, CRC and medium plate all posted on-week declines, but those of rebar contributed the most to the overall inventory drop, the same survey findings showed.
Specifically, rebar stocks eased by 60,800 tonnes on week to 7.88 million tonnes as of September 3.
The dip in inventories can be attributed to the relatively low output of finished steel during the week, Mysteel Global noted.
Combined production of the five steel products among the 137 steelmakers under Mysteel's coverage totaled 7.96 million tonnes during August 27-September 2, edging up by a small 0.5% or 43,000 tonnes on week from the two-year low recorded the previous week.
Domestic finished steel prices continued to log large on-week gains during the sample week, supported by firm cost support, Mysteel Global noted. However, the price drive lost steam later in the week as market participants saw that actual steel consumption among end-user sectors remained sluggish.
On September 2, Mysteel assessed the national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar at Yuan 3,336/tonne ($496/t) including the 13% VAT, up by Yuan 57/t on week. This was still lower by Yuan 14/t from the high recorded on August 31, though.
Similarly, the average price of Q235 4.75mm HRC on September 2 was assessed at Yuan 3,375/t, rising by Yuan 33/t on week but lower by Yuan 12/t from the level on August 31.
Meanwhile, finished steel inventories held by traders in Mysteel's smaller sample of 35 cities also recorded on-week slides, with the tonnage calculated at 11.78 million tonnes as of September 3, down by 0.6% or by 65,200 tonnes from August 27.
Source:Mysteel Global
