In December last year, the purchasing managers' index (PMI) of the steel sector in China’s Hebei Province increased to 51.9 percent, up 0.9 percentage points month on month, as announced by the Hebei Province Metallurgical Industry Association (MIA). In the given month, the trend of the steel sector PMI in Hebei Province was the opposite of the trend for the whole of China, which decreased by 3.4 percentage points month on month to 45.8 percent.
In December, the overall new order index for Hebei Province’s steel sector stood at 57.1 percent, up 0.9 percentage points compared to the previous month, which was above 50 percent for the eighth consecutive month, signaling good demand even in the offseason.
The new export order index stood at 45.5 percent, down 0.7 percentage points from November.
In the given month, the production index for Hebei Province’s steel sector was at 50.0 percent, down 0.9 percentage points month on month.
At the same time, the inventory index for finished steel in Hebei Province declined to 49.6 percent, down 0.4 percentage points month on month.
In addition, the raw material inventory index for the steel sector in Hebei decreased to 42.5 percent, down 2.1 percentage points month on month.
As for January, demand from downstream users will likely slacken and exert a negative impact on steel prices in Hebei Province. In particular, demand will be slacker in northern China, which will lead to more supplies circulating to southern China and also exert a downward pressure on steel prices in the southern. However, steelmakers may reduce production against such a backdrop, which would bolster steel prices to some extent.