In late November (Nov. 21-30) this year, overall domestic inventories of the five main finished steel products in 20 major cities in China totaled 8.375 million mt, down 0.38 million mt or 4.3 percent compared to mid-November (Nov. 11-20)
In particular, as of November 30, domestic inventories of hot rolled coil (HRC), cold rolled coil (CRC), wire rod and rebar amounted to 1.52 million mt, 1.0 million mt, 1.25 million mt and 3.66 million mt, down 9.5 percent, 1.0 percent, 2.3 percent and 4.9 percent, while inventories of common medium plate amounted to 0.94 million mt, up 1.1 percent, respectively, all compared to November 20.
Demand for steel in late November was good, though demand in northern China indicated a slackening trend due to the colder weather. Demand for steel will be sluggish in December, which will likely result in increases in inventory levels in the future.
$1 = RMB 6.5507