Posted on 26 Dec 2025
Inventories of the five major carbon steel items in China dropped for the tenth week straight over December 19-25 to hit the lowest level in 11 months, according to Mysteel's weekly survey.
The combined stocks of rebar, wire rod, hot-rolled coil (HRC), cold-rolled coil (CRC) and medium plate held by traders or piled in warehouses across 132 Chinese cities under Mysteel's tracking slipped to 14.5 million tonnes by December 25, logging the lowest record since late January and down by 3.4% or 504,600 tonnes on week. The declining pace was also slightly faster than the 3.1% drop seen in the previous week, Mysteel Global noted.
Despite the continuous drawdown lasting for more than two months, the latest retail inventory level was still higher by a significant 13.8% than a year ago, the survey results showed, indicating persistent inventory pressure on steel traders.
All five finished steel products logged certain on-week decreases in their stocks this week, with rebar and HRC recording larger drops by volume, Mysteel Global noted.
Specifically, rebar inventories thinned by 5.5% or 271,200 tonnes on week to 4.66 million tonnes as of December 25, while HRC stocks eased by 2.7% or 111,000 tonnes on week to 4.01 million tonnes as of the same day.
Mills' reduced output this week served as a major reason for this week's further inventory decline, with another Mysteel survey showing the combined output of the five steel products among the 137 steel mills Mysteel checks nationwide edged down by 0.14% on week to 7.97 million tonnes over December 18-24, the lowest level so far this year.
Better market sentiment buoyed steel transactions and prices to some extent, dragging down retail inventories as well. Daily trading volume of construction steel comprising rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil among the 237 trading houses under Mysteel's tracking averaged 98,101 tonnes/day over December 19-25, higher by 1,591 t/d or 1.7% from the prior week.
Mysteel assessed the national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar coming in at Yuan 3,327/tonne ($475/t) on December 24, gaining by Yuan 27/t from the level on December 17.
Similarly, finished steel stocks held by traders in Mysteel's smaller sample across just 35 Chinese cities declined by 3.7% or 339,100 tonnes on week to 8.72 million tonnes as of December 25, hovering below the 9-million-tonne threshold for the first time since January 24.
Source:Mysteel Global
