In April this year, the purchasing managers' index (PMI) of the steel sector in China’s Hebei Province increased to 57.3 percent, up 5.7 percentage points month on month, the highest level over the past 24 months, 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 decreased by 1.4 percentage points month on month to 49.2 percent, as announced by the China Steel Logistics Committee (CSLC).
In April, the overall new order index for Hebei Province’s steel sector increased to 59.8 percent, up 2.3 percentage points compared to the previous month.
In April, the production index for Hebei Province’s steel sector increased by 20.7 percentage points month on month to 64.6 percent, while the new export order index for Hebei Province’s steel sector rose by 10.0 percentage points month on month to 62.5 percent.
At the same time, the inventory index for finished steel in Hebei Province increased by 12.2 percentage points month on month to 46.0 percent.
In April, the inventory index for raw materials in Hebei Province stood at 47.6 percent, up 1.3 percentage points month on month.
The ex-works price index for finished steel stood at 79.3 percent in April, up 8.6 percentage points month on month.
In April, the purchasing price index for raw materials stood at 82.9 percent, up 14.6 percentage points from March this year.
In April, steelmakers’ capacity utilization rates increased, resulting in higher outputs. Meanwhile, demand for steel from downstream users improved gradually. Moreover, the increasing prices of raw materials, including iron ore, coke and scrap, firmly bolstered finished steel prices from the cost side.
