In July this year, the purchasing managers' index (PMI) of the steel sector in China's Hebei Province decreased to 42.0 percent, down 4.5 percentage points month on month, still below 50 percent, as announced by the Hebei Province Metallurgical Industry Association (MIA).
In July, the overall new order index for Hebei Province's steel sector decreased to 37.8 percent, down 1.2 percentage points compared to the previous month.
In July, the production index for Hebei Province's steel sector decreased by 14.6 percentage points month on month to 35.4 percent, while the new export order index for Hebei Province's steel sector rose by 6.7 percentage points month on month to 45.8 percent. Finished steel export prices from Hebei Province remained competitive, while the demand from Southeast Asia and Middle East has been stable, resulting in the rise in the export order index.
At the same time, in July, the inventory index for finished steel in Hebei Province decreased by 2.8 percentage points month on month to 45.9 percent.
In July, the inventory index for raw materials in Hebei Province stood at 42.7 percent, down 8.5 percentage points month on month.
The ex-works price index for finished steel stood at 25.6 percent in July, remaining stable month on month. The ongoing slack demand from downstream users and the support from raw material prices contributed to the stable trend of ex-work prices at low levels.
In July, the purchasing price index for raw materials stood at 39.0 percent, down 24.4 percentage points from June this year.
According to experts, the industry is currently in a fragile balance: policy hopes are strong, but the physical market is weak. With cost support softening, the market is likely to be volatile and at low levels in the near term.
