Posted on 25 Nov 2025
Production of hot-rolled coils (HRC) among the 37 Chinese steelmakers regularly surveyed by Mysteel recovered modestly during November 13-19, edging higher by 0.75% on week to 3.16 million tonnes, the latest survey results showed.
During the week, the HRC rolling capacity utilization rate among these sampled mills rose by 0.6 percentage point on week to average 80.73%, while the operational rate increased by 1.57 percentage points to 78.13%, the results indicated.
Some hot strip mills at steel firms in North China resumed operations last week after seasonal overhauls, leading to the small uptick in HRC output, Mysteel Global noted.
Consumption of the flat steel increased slightly last week, especially in South China, as concerns among traders regarding future market trends prompted them to lower their offers to offload their stocks, market sources indicated.
By November 20, HRC inventories at the 194 commercial warehouses in the 55 Chinese cities Mysteel monitors stood at 4.4 million tonnes, lower by 90,800 tonnes or 2% on week.
However, during the same week the stocks held by the steel mills still rose, increasing by 5,000 tonnes or 0.64% to sit at 780,200 tonnes, due to persistently lackluster demand from China's manufacturing and construction sectors.
With demand for hot coils expected to soften further next month, the uptick on inventories may reemerge as a problem, especially if steel mills fail to make a concerted effort to rein in their production in coming weeks, a Shanghai-based analyst commented. HRC prices may remain rangebound in the near term, she also predicted.
On November 21, Mysteel assessed the national price of Q235 4.75mm HRC at Yuan 3,309/tonne ($465.7/t) including the 13% VAT, up by Yuan 5/t or 0.15% on week.
The same day, the most-traded HRC contract for January delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange ended the daytime trading session at Yuan 3,270/t, higher by Yuan 19/t or 0.58% from the settlement price a week earlier, the bourse's data showed.
Source:Mysteel Global
