As of September 21 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 13.065 million mt, down 664,000 mt as compared to the previous week and indicating week-on-week decline for nine straight weeks, according to the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA). Meanwhile, China’s total finished steel inventory on the date in question was down 1.377 million mt year on year, constituting a larger decrease compared with the year-on-year decrease of 522,000 mt last week.
As of September 21, all the main finished steel products indicated declines on week-on-week basis. In particular, inventory of rebar indicated decreases of 287,000 mt week on week and 470,000 mt year on year to 5.299 million mt, indicating week-on-week drop for eleven consecutive weeks. As of the same date, wire rod inventory in China indicated a week-on-week decrease of 109,000 mt, while hot rolled coil inventory witnessed decreases of 219,000 mt on week-on-week basis and 900,000 mt year on year. Domestic inventories of cold rolled coil and plate were respectively down just 7,000 mt and 42,000 mt compared to the previous week.