The China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) has announced that in early September (September 1-10) this year, the average aggregate daily crude steel output of large and medium-sized steel enterprises in China - all CISA members - totaled 2.0018 million mt, down 0.69 percent compared to late August (August 21-31). During the previous period, late August, the average aggregate daily crude steel output had decreased by 1.87 percent from mid-August (August 11-20), which means that production continued its declining trend throughout the late August-early September period.
The output drop and better demand resulted in big declines in inventory levels in the Chinese steel market. As of September 10, the finished steel inventories of large and medium-sized steel enterprises in China amounted to 10.59 million mt, decreasing by 10.65 percent compared to August 31. This followed a 9.9 percent decrease in inventories at the end of August compared to August 20.
High iron ore prices, positive macroeconomic policies and production restriction measures for the National Day holiday have bolstered steel prices in China in September. The average rebar price in China increased by RMB 86/mt ($12/mt) from September 2, rising to RMB 3,843/mt ex-warehouse by September 27, according to SteelOrbis’ data.