In December last year, the purchasing managers index (PMI) for the Chinese steel sector was at 40.6 percent, up 3.6 percentage points as compared to November, as announced by the China Steel Logistics Committee (CSLC), which is part of the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP).
In addition, in December the production index for the steel sector increased by 3.1 percentage points compared to the previous month to 38.5 percent. Meanwhile, in December the sub-index for new orders saw an increase of 11.2 percentage points month on month to 40.9 percent.
In the given month, the finished steel inventory index decreased to 39.5 percent, down 9.7 percentage points month on month, the index for new export orders saw a month-on-month increase of 6.6 percentage points to 47.8 percent, while the purchase price index in the Chinese steel sector stood at 26.0 percent, indicating an increase of 1.4 percentage points month on month.