Posted on 11 Jul 2025
Stocks of the five major finished steel products held by Chinese traders thinned slightly during July 4-10 after the previous week's gain, with their inventories slipping by 0.3% on week, according to Mysteel's latest weekly survey. Explaining the dip, respondents pointed to the reduction in steel output and lower volumes of steel arriving at traders' warehouses during the period, together with the continuing sluggishness of steel demand.
The total stocks of rebar, wire rod, hot-rolled coil (HRC), cold-rolled coil (CRC) and medium plate at trading houses in the 132 cities Mysteel monitors nationwide decreased by 42,400 tonnes on week to 14.89 million tonnes as of Thursday.
By product, rebar and HRC inventories saw the most notable declines, falling by 74,200 tonnes and 11,200 tonnes respectively to 5.56 million tonnes and 3.54 million tonnes. In contrast, stocks of wire rod, CRC, and medium plate edged up by 15,600 tonnes, 3,000 tonnes, and 24,400 tonnes to 1.48 million tonnes, 2.24 million tonnes, and 2.07 million tonnes, respectively.
"Local steel mills delivered noticeably less finished steel compared with the prior week," noted a market insider in Southeast China's Fujian province, adding that spot market activity in the region was also subdued by the heavy rains and floods caused recently by Typhoon Danas, as reported.
Production of the five major steel products among the 184 steel mills Mysteel checks nationwide slipped by 1.4% or 124,400 tonnes on week to reach 8.73 million tonnes over July 3-9.
Meanwhile, the daily trading volume of rebar, wire-rod and bar-in-coil among the 237 trading houses across the country sampled by Mysteel averaged a low 96,764 tonnes/day during July 3-9, lower by 9.4% or 10,056 t/d on week – a symptom of the lethargic demand in summer.
Steel prices were volatile last week. On July 9, Mysteel assessed the national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar at Yuan 3,242/tonne ($452/t) including the 13% VAT, up Yuan 14/t on week.
Steel inventories held by traders in Mysteel's smaller sample across just 35 Chinese cities also inched down 0.2% or 21,200 tonnes on week to 9.14 million tonnes by Thursday.
Source:Mysteel Global
