In May this year, the purchasing managers' index (PMI) of the steel sector in China’s Hebei Province decreased to 56.1 percent, down 4.2 percentage points month on month, 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 different from that for the whole of China, which edged up by 1.9 percentage points month on month to 49.8 percent, as announced by the China Steel Logistics Committee (CSLC).
In May, the overall new order index for Hebei Province’s steel sector decreased to 63.8 percent, down 8.7 percentage points compared to the previous month.
In the given month, the new export order index for Hebei Province’s steel sector decreased to 50.0 percent, down 6.8 percentage points month on month. Recently, part of countries in the global market attempted to adjust the export tax on ex-China products—including new energy vehicles and photovoltaic products, signaling big uncertainties on ex-China exports, including steel and other downstream manufactured goods.
In the given month, the production index for Hebei Province’s steel sector declined to 57.1 percent, down 2.4 percentage points month on month.
At the same time, the inventory index for finished steel in Hebei Province rose to 41.0 percent, up 10.2 percentage points month on month.
In May, the inventory index for raw materials in Hebei Province stood at 51.2 percent, down 1.2 percentage points month on month.
In the given month, the purchasing price index for raw materials in Hebei Province decreased to 77.4 percent, down 3.6 percentage points month on month. Iron ore prices fluctuated within a limited range at high levels, while scrap and semi-finished steel prices moved up, though metallurgical coke prices declined, resulting in slight decreases in the purchasing price index in May.
As for June, both of the supply and demand in steel market will slacken, which will contribute a decreasing trend in finished steel prices as it will be in traditional offseason due to the high temperature.
