In October this year, the purchasing managers' index (PMI) of the steel sector in China’s Hebei Province rose to 50.7 percent, up 0.7 percentage points month on month, as announced by the Hebei Province Metallurgical Industry Association.
In October, the overall new order index for Hebei Province’s steel sector stood at 53.8 percent, up 5.7 percentage points compared to the previous month. Meanwhile, the new export order index for the sector was at 50.0 percent, increasing by 0.5 percentage points month on month. In the given month, the production index for Hebei Province’s steel sector was at 48.4 percent, down 2.8 percentage points month on month, while the inventory index for finished steel in Hebei Province decreased to 37.0 percent, down 11.1 percentage points month on month. In addition, the raw material inventory index for the steel sector in Hebei decreased to 46.3 percent, down 5.6 percentage points month on month.