Posted on 22 Sep 2025
Total inventories of the five major carbon steel products held by the Chinese steel mills sampled in Mysteel's regular survey continued declining over September 12-18, with the tonnage down slightly by 0.3% on week at 4.18 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, inventories of long steel declined from the prior week, while those of flats increased by varying degrees, the findings showed.
The on-week dip in total steel inventories was partly due to the further decline in finished steel output among the sampled steelmakers that was mainly seen in their production of rebar, Mysteel Global learned.
During September 11-17, total production of the five major steel items among these sampled mills slipped for a third week to 8.55 million tonnes – albeit down by a tiny 0.2% on week – while their output of rebar fell by 2.6% on week to 2.06 million tonnes.
Besides, domestic steel sales in the physical market improved to some extent with the gradual recovery in demand from end-users, which also contributed to the lower inventories held by Chinese steel producers.
Mysteel's other survey showed that over September11-17, the daily trading volume of construction steel comprising rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil among the 237 trading houses nationwide tracked by Mysteel averaged 107,853 tonnes/day, higher by 3,557 t/d or 3.4% compared with the previous week.
China's steel prices recovered slightly earlier this week, Mysteel Global noted. Market sentiment improved on macro-economic developments such as the expectations for an interest rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve and the market news of production curbs in North China's Tangshan to improve air quality.
On September 17, Mysteel assessed the national average price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar at Yuan 3,306/tonne ($465/t) including the 13% VAT, rising by Yuan 25/t on week, while that of Q235 4.75mm HRC under Mysteel's assessment increased by Yuan 18/t on week to reach Yuan 3,457/t including the 13% VAT.
Inventories of the five major steel products held by Chinese traders rose again over September 12-18 to touch a five-month high of 17.91 million tonnes, although the on-week rise had slowed to 0.9% as against the growth of 2% over the prior week, according to the survey.
Source:Mysteel Global
