As of October 19 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 12.706 million mt, down 468,000 mt as compared to the previous week and indicating a sharper week-on-week decline compared to the previous week, according to the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA). Meanwhile, China’s total finished steel inventory on the date in question was down 2.165 million mt year on year.
As of October 19, most of the main finished steel products indicated declines in inventory on week-on-week basis. In particular, inventory of rebar indicated decreases of 262,000 mt week on week and 880,000 mt year on year. As of the same date, wire rod inventory in China indicated a week-on-week decrease of 51,000 mt, while plate inventory was down 9,000 mt week on week.