In September this year, the purchasing managers index (PMI) for the Chinese steel sector was at 45.8 percent, 0.6 percentage points higher compared to August this year, as announced by the China Steel Logistics Committee (CSLC), which is part of the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP).
Moreover, in September, the new order index stood at 44.5 percent, 1.6 percentage points higher than that recorded in August, though still below 50 percent.
In the given month, the production index for the Chinese steel sector stood at 45 percent, 1.1 percentage points lower than that recorded in August.
In September, the index of raw material purchase prices stood at 73.3 percent, 9.2 percentage points higher than in August, reaching the highest level since the beginning of this year.
As for October, demand for steel will improve, while production may decline to a certain degree, and so steel prices are expected to move up, even though raw material prices are expected to move down from their current high levels.