Posted on 16 May 2025
Stocks of the five major finished steel products held by Chinese traders in the 132 cities under Mysteel's tracking thinned during the May 9-15 week after picking up the week before, the latest survey data showed. The five items comprise rebar, wire rod, hot-rolled coil (HRC), cold-rolled coil and medium plate.
As of Thursday, the total inventory volume had fallen by 3.1% or 508,400 tonnes on week to 16.1 million tonnes as trading activities had gradually resumed after the Labour Day holiday ended on May 5. Respondents also pointed to the fall in steel output during the survey period to explain the drop in stocks.
Among the five, rebar stocks decreased the most, falling by 353,700 tonnes on week to touch a 3.5-month low of 6.5 million tonnes as of Thursday. Second to rebar was HRC, whose stocks slipped by 176,500 tonnes during the same period to 3.8 million tonnes, also a 3.5-month low.
Meanwhile, a survey respondent attributed the fall in traders' stocks partly to the dip that occurred in domestic steelmakers' output last week. Production of five finished steel products among the 184 steelmakers Mysteel monitors slid by 0.7% or 58,200 tonnes on week to 8.68 million tonnes over May 8-14.
However, some market players hold a cautious view about the outlook for steel demand as the low consumption season in China is approaching, bringing rains and hot weather to the country's southern regions that in the past have disrupted construction activities. The spot trading volume of rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil among the 237 trading houses nationwide that Mysteel samples averaged only 107,989 tonnes/day during May 8-14.
A source based in Southeast China's Fujian province told Mysteel Global that retail steel-stock volumes in that province had thinned during the survey week, partly because some traders stepped up their deliveries to markets outside the province where prices are more attractive.
By Thursday, the inventories of finished steel products that traders held in Mysteel's smaller sample across just 35 cities had fallen by 3.8% or 393,700 tonnes on week to 9.9 million tonnes.
Source:Mysteel Global
