In March this year, the purchasing managers index (PMI) for the Chinese steel sector was at 43.0 percent, down by 2.1 percentage points as compared to February, still remaining below the 50 percent threshold, as announced by the China Steel Logistics Committee (CSLC), which is part of the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP).
In addition, in March the production index for the steel sector decreased by 2.3 percentage points compared to the previous month to 39.2 percent. Meanwhile, in March the raw material inventory index for the sector decreased to 44.1 percent, with a 6.4 percentage point month-on-month decrease, while the sub-index for new orders saw an increase of 1.5 percentage points month on month to 45.3 percent.
In the given month, the finished steel inventory index decreased to 50.7 percent, down 1.6 percentage points month on month, while the index for new export orders increased to 44.1 percent, up 0.7 percentage points month on month, but still remaining below the threshold of 50 percent. In March, the purchase price index in the Chinese steel sector stood at 26.6 percent, seeing a drop of 3.2 percentage points month on month.