In August this year, the purchasing managers index (PMI) for the Chinese steel sector was at 45.2 percent, 4.7 percentage points lower compared to July this year, as announced by the China Steel Logistics Committee (CSLC), which is part of the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP).
In August, the production index for the Chinese steel sector stood at 46.1 percent, 6.4 percentage points lower than that recorded in July.
In August, the new order index stood at 42.9 percent, 6.9 percentage points lower than in July and lower than 50.0 percent for the second consecutive month, signaling that demand for steel has not improved yet.
Moreover, in August, the new export order index stood at 60.1 percent, 8.3 percentage points higher than in July, indicating an improvement in the export sector.
In the given month, the index of raw material purchase prices stood at 64.1 percent, 5.8 percentage points lower than in July.
As for September, demand for steel is likely to improve due to the traditional peak season, while production is expected to decrease, which will help steel prices to record a rebounding trend.
