As of September 14 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 13.729 million mt, down 405,000 mt as compared to the previous week and indicating the sharpest decline of the latest eight weeks, according to the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA). Meanwhile, China’s total finished steel inventory on the date in question was down 522,000 mt year on year, constituting the first year-on-year decrease in the latest 28 weeks.
As of September 14, all the main finished steel products indicated declines on week-on-week basis. In particular, inventory of rebar indicated decreases of 158,000 mt week on week and 93,000 mt year on year to 5.586 million mt, indicating the first year-on-year drop in rebar inventory in the current year. As of the same date, wire rod inventory in China indicated a week-on-week decrease of 68,000 mt, while hot rolled coil inventory witnessed decreases of 125,000 mt week on week and 572,000 mt on year-on-year basis. Domestic inventories of cold rolled coil and plate were respectively down just 14,000 mt and 41,000 mt compared to the previous week