In February this year, the purchasing managers' index (PMI) of the steel sector in China’s Hebei Province decreased to 45.7 percent, down 1.2 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 different from that for the whole of China, which rose by 4.3 percentage points month on month to 48.6 percent.
In February, the overall new order index for Hebei Province’s steel sector stood at 46.2 percent, down 1.3 percentage points compared to the previous month. The Covid-19 pandemic in Hebei Province and local steelmakers leaving for the holiday in advance resulted in sluggish demand in the given month.
The new export order index stood at 49.0 percent, up 1.5 percentage points amid the improved demand for steel in overseas markets.
In the given month, the production index for Hebei Province’s steel sector was at 42.1 percent, up 0.6 percentage points month on month.
At the same time, the inventory index for finished steel in Hebei Province increased to 61.4 percent, up 6.4 percentage points month on month.
In addition, the raw material inventory index for the steel sector in Hebei decreased to 37.0 percent, down 2.1 percentage points month on month.
In February, even the Chinese New Year holiday could not prevent steel prices from moving up sharply as the expectations for inflation in the global market stimulated commodity prices. However, there were limited effective transaction activities in February. As for March, demand for steel will improve significantly, which will push up steel prices amid high levels of iron ore prices.