On February 20 this year, overall domestic inventories of the five main finished steel products in 21 major cities in China totaled 13.72 million mt, up 1.0 million mt or 2.3 percent compared to February 10, as announced by the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA).
In particular, as of February 20, domestic inventories of cold rolled coil (CRC) and common medium plate amounted to 1.5 million mt and 1.26 million mt, down 2.0 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively, though domestic inventories of hot rolled coil (HRC), wire rod and rebar amounted to 2.27 million mt, 1.78 million mt and 6.91 million mt, up 1.3 percent, 5.3 percent and 3.8 percent, respectively, all compared to January 31.
In mid-February, the increasing pace of inventories of the five main finished steel products slowed down further amid better demand from downstream users.