The China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) has announced that in mid-June (June 11-20) this year the average aggregate daily crude steel output of large and medium-sized steel enterprises in China - all CISA members - totaled 2.1 million mt, up 0.8 percent compared to early June (June 1-10) this year.
In early June, the average aggregate daily crude steel output of large and medium-sized steel enterprises in China had totaled 2.083 million mt, up 3.8 percent compared to late May (May 21-31) this year.
Inventory levels of the large and medium-sized steel enterprises in China increased in the given period. As of June 20, the finished steel inventories of large and medium-sized steel enterprises in China amounted to 17.90 million mt, increasing by 6.1 percent compared to June 10.
The bigger increase in inventory levels compared to the rise in crude steel output in mid-June indicates that demand was slack in the given period, amid the traditional off-season and the continuous widespread rainy weather negatively affecting construction activities at project sites, which negatively affected the demand for steel, resulting in increases in inventories.