In March this year, the purchasing managers index (PMI) for the Chinese steel sector was at 50.6 percent, up 1.1 percentage points as compared to February, as announced by the China Steel Logistics Committee (CSLC), which is part of the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP).
In addition, in March the production index for the steel sector increased by 5.2 percentage points compared to the previous month to 50.6 percent. Meanwhile, in March the sub-index for new orders in the steel sector saw an increase of 0.6 percentage points month on month to 51.9 percent.
In the given month, the finished steel inventory index increased to 56.0 percent, up 3.5 percentage points month on month, the index for new export orders saw a month-on-month decrease of 3.0 percentage points to 40.9 percent, while the purchase price index of raw materials in the Chinese steel sector stood at 40.8 percent, indicating a sharp decrease of 7.9 percentage points month on month.