In September this year, the purchasing managers index (PMI) for the Chinese steel sector was at 43.7 percent, down 1.0 percentage point as compared to August, remaining under 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 September the production index for the steel sector decreased by 2.9 percentage points compared to the previous month to 44.6 percent. Meanwhile, in September the raw material inventory index for the sector stood at 44.0 percent, up 1.9 percentage points month on month, while the sub-index for new orders saw an increase of 0.8 percentage points month on month to 40.7 percent.
In the given month, the finished steel inventory index decreased to 49.3 percent, down 0.5 percentage points month on month, the index for new export orders saw a large month-on-month decrease of 13.8 percent to 40.7 percent, while the purchase price index in the Chinese steel sector stood at 39.2 percent, indicating an sharp decrease of 9.0 percentage points month on month.