In December last year, China’s finished steel prices continued to decrease, as stated by China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). In December, China's composite steel price index issued by the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) was at 84.04 points, down 1.79 points compared to November. In particular, in December the average prices of 6.5 mm high-speed wire rod, 20 mm common medium plate and 1.0 mm cold rolled coil (CRC) were respectively RMB 2,855/mt ($465.7/mt), RMB 2,999/mt ($489.2/mt) and RMB 3,898/mt ($635.9/mt), down RMB 137/mt ($22.3/mt), RMB 34mt ($5.5/mt) and RMB 41/mt ($6.7/mt) month on month, while indicating decreases of 19 percent, 15.3 percent and 12.2 percent year on year, respectively.
In 2014, the Chinese domestic steel industry had achieved an overall gross profit of RMB 219.2 billion ($35.8 billion), down 8.2 percent year on year.