In December last year, the purchasing managers index (PMI) for the Chinese steel sector was at 45.6 percent, up 0.4 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 decreased by 3.0 percentage points compared to the previous month to 44.6 percent. Meanwhile, in December the sub-index for new orders in the steel sector saw a rise of 4.1 percentage points month on month to 39.5 percent.
In the given month, the finished steel inventory index decreased to 48.8 percent, down 10.0 percentage points month on month, the index for new export orders saw a month-on-month decrease of 7.4 percentage points to 35.8 percent, while the purchase price index of raw materials in the Chinese steel sector stood at 41.2 percent, indicating a decline of 6.4 percentage points month on month.