Inventories of the five major carbon steel products held by the Chinese steel mills sampled in Mysteel's regular survey edged down during December 12-18 after the accumulation over the prior week, with the total volume drifting lower by a tiny 0.5% on week to reach 3.88 million tonnes.
The five major steel items comprise rebar, wire rod, hot-rolled coil (HRC), cold-rolled coil (CRC) and medium plate. During the survey period, inventories of most major steel items dipped by varying degrees, except for the 1.5% on-week rise in stocks of medium plate, the findings showed.
China's finished steel output continued to slow, as more domestic mills conducted maintenance on their steelmaking facilities given the shrinking demand from end-users during the cold winter season. This contributed to the decrease in mills' steel inventories, Mysteel Global noted.
Over December 11-17, production of the five major steel products among the sampled steel mills totalled 7.98 million tonnes, slipping for the third consecutive week by 1% on week.
With temperatures falling and outdoor construction slowing down, steel transactions in the physical market have contracted further recently, as end-users just prefer to purchase some products to meet their immediate needs.
Mysteel's other survey showed that over December 11-17, the daily trading volume of construction steel comprising rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil among the 237 trading houses nationwide under its tracking averaged 96,509 tonnes/day, lower by 1,585 t/d or 1.6% from the prior week.
China's finished steel prices kept rangebound this week, with the national average price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar under Mysteel's assessment standing at Yuan 3,300/tonne ($469/t) including the 13% VAT on December 17, dipping by Yuan 1/t on week. During the same period, the national average price of Q235 4.75mm HRC was assessed by Mysteel at Yuan 3,288/t including the 13% VAT for an on-week fall of Yuan 19/t.
Inventories of the five major steel products at warehouses in the 132 Chinese cities under Mysteel's regular tracking also declined during December 12-18 to sit at 15.02 million tonnes, falling for the ninth straight week by 3.1% on week, according to the survey.
