On April 20 this year, overall domestic inventories of the five main finished steel products in 21 major cities in China totaled 10.6 million mt, decreasing by 2.0 percent compared to April 10, 3.3 percentage points slower compared to the declining pace recorded in early April (April 1-10), as announced by the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA).
The decline in inventory indicates that downstream procurement is continuing to deplete stocks and that demand during the traditional peak season of April has indeed materialized. However, the pace of destocking has slowed, suggesting that the destocking rate is decelerating and the high point of peak-season demand may have already passed.
In particular, as of April 20, domestic inventory of HRC, CRC, wire rod and rebar decreased by 2.8 percent, 0.7 percent, 5.5 percent and 2.0 percent, respectively, while domestic inventory of medium steel plate rose by 0.9 percent, all compared to April 10.
