In January this year, the purchasing managers' index (PMI) of the steel sector in China’s Hebei Province decreased to 39.6 percent, down 8.6 percentage points month on month, below 50 points for the ninth consecutive month and falling to the lowest level since October 2012, as announced by the Hebei Province Metallurgical Industry Association on February 1.
In January, the overall new order index for Hebei Province's steel sector stood at 29.1 percent, down 17.6 percentage points compared to the previous month. Meanwhile, the new export order index for the sector was at 25.0 percent, down 14.3 percentage points month on month. In the given month, the production index for Hebei Province's steel sector decreased to 42.2 percent, down 10 percentage points month on month.
In January, the inventory index for finished steel in Hebei Province rose to 58.1 percent, up 18.1 percentage points, while the raw material inventory index stood at 30.0 percent, down 14.7 percentage points, both month on month.