Posted on 22 Aug 2025
The stocks of finished steel products piled at trading houses across China tracked by Mysteel climbed further by 3% over August 15-21, extending gains since mid-July and outpacing the prior week's 1.8% rise, according to the latest stocks survey.
The faster stockpiling was largely due to weakening end-user demand, as the still-intense summer heat in much of China continued to curb outdoor construction activity. At the same time, many steel mills in the country maintained relatively high production levels amid positive profit margins.
As of August 21, total inventories of the five major steel products comprising rebar, wire rod, hot-rolled coil (HRC), cold-rolled coil and medium plate held by the surveyed traders in the 132 Chinese cities under Mysteel's coverage swelled by 472,500 tonnes on week to hit a three-month high of 16.4 million tonnes.
All these five steel items recorded rises in their stocks in the past week. Notably, rebar stocks rose by 187,500 tonnes on week to 6.4 million tonnes, and those of HRC climbed by 104,900 tonnes on week to 3.8 million tonnes, the survey data found.
On the supply side, combined production of the five major steel products among the 184 steelmakers Mysteel tracks increased for the fourth straight week, up by 0.7% or 64,300 tonnes on week to reach 8.78 million tonnes during August 14-20.
"The supply-demand fundamentals of the Chinese steel market have been weakening," observed a market source, citing a significant contraction in demand.
The spot trading volume of long steel products comprising rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil among the 237 trading houses Mysteel checks nationwide averaged only 95,103 tonnes/day during August 14-20, 7.3% or 7,539 t/d lower than the prior week's average.
China's finished steel prices have also edged lower amid weak fundamentals lately. As of August 20, the national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar, for example, had dropped by Yuan 82/tonne ($11.4/t) on week to hit a one-month low of Yuan 3,338/t and including the 13% VAT, according to Mysteel's assessment.
The inventories of finished steel products in Mysteel's smaller sample across the 35 cities also rose to 10.2 million tonnes as of August 21, touching a three-month high and up 2.7% or 263,700 tonnes from a week earlier.
Source:Mysteel Global
