As of September 20 this year, overall domestic inventories of the five main finished steel products in 20 cities in China totaled 12.42 million mt, almost stable compared to the previous 10-day period - down just 10,000 mt or 0.1 percent compared to September 10, but down 7.79 million mt or 38.5 percent compared to the highest level this year recorded on March 10.
In particular, as of September 20, domestic inventories of hot rolled coil (HRC), cold rolled coil (CRC) and common medium plate in China amounted to 1.88 million mt, 1.13 million mt and 0.96 million mt, increasing by 1.1 percent, 0.9 percent and 7.9 percent, respectively, though inventories of wire rod and rebar totaled 1.95 million mt and 6.5 million mt, down 1.0 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively, all compared to September 10.
Since demand for steel has not seen an improvement even amid the traditional peak season for business, inventories of steel have only indicated slight declines in the given period, negatively affecting steel prices.