Posted on 03 Jun 2025
Inventories of the five major carbon steel products held by the Chinese steel mills sampled in Mysteel's regular survey resumed declining during May 23-29 after the rise of the prior week, with the total tonnage down slightly by 0.7% on week at 4.35 million tonnes.
The five steel items comprise rebar, wire rod, hot-rolled coil (HRC), cold-rolled coil (CRC) and medium plate. During the survey period, stocks of most major steel products slipped by varying degrees, while those of HRC remained stable on week, the survey results showed.
Total inventories of the five major steel items at warehouses in the 132 Chinese cities monitored by Mysteel also declined during May 23-29 to reach 15.19 million tonnes, slipping for the third consecutive week by 3.2% on week, according to the survey.
However, the decrease in steel inventories held by both Chinese mills and traders could not lend too much support to the country's finished steel prices, as sentiment in domestic steel market weakened with the slowdown in demand from end-users during the rainy season in southern China, Mysteel Global noted.
Over May 22-28, the daily trading volume of construction steel comprising rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil among the 237 trading houses nationwide under Mysteel's regular tracking registered 94,180 tonnes/day on average, down by 4,714 t/d or 4.8% on week.
As of May 28, the national average price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar, a bellwether of domestic steel-market sentiment, was assessed by Mysteel at Yuan 3,224/tonne ($448/t) including the 13% VAT, lower by Yuan 76/t from one week before.
On Wednesday, the most-traded rebar contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange for delivery in October closed the daytime trading session at Yuan 2,964/t, falling by Yuan 98/t from the settlement price on May 21, according to the exchange's data.
Some Chinese steel mills resumed production this week after completing maintenance, and their finished steel output increased accordingly. Over May 22-28, total output of the five steel products among the sampled steelmakers reached 8.81 million tonnes, up 1% on week.
Source:Mysteel Global
