The China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) has announced that in early May (May 1-10) this year the average aggregate daily crude steel output of large and medium-sized steel enterprises in China - all CISA members - totaled 2.0508 million mt, up 2.0 percent compared to late April (April 21-30) this year.
In late April this year, the average aggregate daily crude steel output of large and medium-sized steel enterprises in China had totaled 2.2067 million mt, down 3.63 percent compared to mid-April (April 11-20) this year.
Inventory levels in the Chinese steel market decreased in the given period. As of May 10, the finished steel inventories of large and medium-sized steel enterprises in China amounted to 17.6112 million mt, decreasing by 2.76 percent compared to April 30.
As of May 10, rebar futures at the Shanghai Future Exchange were standing at RMB 3,688/mt ($529/mt), increasing by RMB 28/mt ($4/mt) or 0.77 percent since April 28.
In early May, steel prices edged up first, while they moved down again later amid the slack demand from downstream users.
$1 = RMB 6.9654