In June this year, the purchasing managers' index (PMI) of the steel sector in China’s Hebei Province decreased to 46.5 percent, down 6.6 percentage points month on month, below 50 percent, as announced by the Hebei Province Metallurgical Industry Association (MIA). In the given month, the trend of the PMI for the steel sector in Hebei Province was the same as that for the whole of China, which decreased by 0.1 percentage points month on month to 47.8 percent, as announced by the China Steel Logistics Committee (CSLC).
In June, the overall new order index for Hebei Province’s steel sector decreased to 39.0 percent, down 14.7 percentage points compared to the previous month.
In June, the production index for Hebei Province’s steel sector decreased by 4.9 percentage points month on month to 50.0 percent, while the new export order index for Hebei Province’s steel sector rose by 1.1 percentage points month on month to 39.0 percent.
At the same time, the inventory index for finished steel in Hebei Province increased by 5.5 percentage points month on month to 48.7 percent.
In June, the inventory index for raw materials in Hebei Province stood at 51.2 percent, down 2.5 percentage points month on month.
The ex-works price index for finished steel stood at 25.6 percent in June, down 52.4 percentage points month on month. The quiet transaction activities in steel market, slackening demand from downstream users in the traditional off-season and the pressure from inventories exerted negative impacts on steel industry.
In June, the purchasing price index for raw materials stood at 63.4 percent, down 12.2 percentage points from May this year.
In June, the widespread rainy weather and high temperatures negatively affected the performance in steel industry in Hebei Province. On raw materials side, iron ore prices edged down, while coke prices have seen continuous rises, bolstering steel prices to a certain degree. The traditional off-season will continue in July, which will likely continue to weaken the support to steel prices.
