Aggregate steel sector net profit in Hubei up 8.6% in Jan-May

According to the government of the Chinese province of Hubei, in the January-May period of the current year the aggregate net profit recorded by the steel sector in Hubei amounted to RMB 21.47 billion ($3.4 billion), up 8.6 percent year on year. In the given period, total output of crude steel in Hubei Province decreased by 2.9 percent, while the output of finished steel products rose by 5.6 percent to 15.15 million mt, both on year-on-year basis.
 
The Hubei authorities also stated that WISCO Echeng Iron & Steel Co., one of the main steel producers in the province, recorded an average steel product market price of RMB 4,220/mt ($668.7/mt) ex-works in late May, decreasing by RMB 110/mt ($17.4/mt) compared to late April. In addition, the finished steel product inventory of Echeng Steel at the end of May almost reached 100,000 mt. Due to sluggish market demand, some small steel mills in Hubei have halted production.