As of October 8 this year, inventory of the main finished steel products (plate, hot rolled coil (HRC), cold rolled coil (CRC), rebar and wire rod) in 26 major steel markets in China totaled 13.512 million mt, up 975,000 mt as compared to the previous week and ending 10 consecutive weeks of downward movement, according to the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA). Meanwhile, total finished steel inventory in China on the date in question was down 1,681,000 mt year on year.
As of October 8, apart from cold rolled coil, inventories of most finished steel products indicated increases on week-on-week basis. In particular, inventory of rebar indicated an increase of 596,000 mt week on week (the first week-on-week increase in 12 weeks) and a decrease of 558,000 mt year on year. As of the same date, hot rolled coil inventory in China was up 76,000 mt week on week but down over 1 million mt on year-on-year basis. Meanwhile, cold rolled coil inventory remained unchanged compared with the previous week. Domestic inventories of wire rod and plate were respectively up 200,000 mt and 42,000 mt on week-on-week basis.