In December this year, the purchasing managers index (PMI) for the Chinese steel sector was at 50.2 percent, down 2.9 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 0.4 percentage points compared to the previous month to 46.1 percent. Meanwhile, in December the sub-index for new orders in the steel sector saw a decline of 7.1 percentage points month on month to 58.3 percent.
In the given month, the finished steel inventory index increased to 48.3 percent, up 7.9 percentage points month on month, the index for new export orders saw a month-on-month decrease of 5.6 percentage points to 36.1 percent, while the purchase price index of raw materials in the Chinese steel sector stood at 51.7 percent, indicating a drop of 5.0 percentage points month on month.