Posted on 24 Apr 2026
Retail stocks of the five major finished steel items stored in the commercial warehouses across China regularly checked by Mysteel retreated for the sixth consecutive week during April 17-23, the results of Mysteel's latest weekly survey reveal.
As of April 23, the total inventories of rebar, wire rod, hot-rolled coil (HRC), cold-rolled coil (CRC) and medium plate held by traders in the 132 cities under Mysteel's tracking had eased by 3.7% or 798,700 tonnes on week to 20.91 million tonnes.
Despite the further on-week decline, the level remained 21.3% higher than in the same period last year, suggesting that traders are still facing great inventory pressure, Mysteel Global noted.
Stocks of all five carbon steel products dropped in the week, with the volumes of rebar and medium plate contributing the most to the inventory decline, the results show.
Specifically, rebar inventories had eased by 4.6% or by 419,200 tonnes on week to 8.64 million tonnes by April 23, while stocks of medium plate had dropped by 4.8% or 135,800 tonnes on week to 2.68 million tonnes as of the same day.
Responsible for the fall in inventories was the upbeat market sentiment which had buoyed spot trading activity, Mysteel Global noted.
For example, the daily spot trading volume of major construction steel items comprising rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil of the 237 Chinese trading houses under Mysteel's tracking averaged 123,065 tonnes/day over April 16-22, surging by 16.3% or 17,251 t/d on week.
The brighter market mood also led to a sharp increase in finished steel prices, with Mysteel assessing the national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar at Yuan 3,386/tonne ($495/t) including the 13% VAT on April 22, up by Yuan 56/t from April 15.
On the same day, the average price of Q235 4.75mm HRC nationwide hit Yuan 3,378/t including the 13% VAT, mounting by Yuan 57/t on week.
The higher prices helped the steelmakers recover the profit margins they had previously enjoyed on finished steel sales, prompting some to ramp up production over the survey week, Mysteel Global noted.
The combined output of the five steel products during April 16-22 among the 137 Chinese steel mills under Mysteel's coverage amounted to 8.63 million tonnes, edging up by 0.9% or 78,900 tonnes on week.
Finished steel inventories held by traders in Mysteel's smaller sample of 35 cities also thinned further throughout the survey week. The same survey findings show that the tonnage totaled 12.51 million tonnes as of April 23, down by 3.3% or by 429,200 tonnes on week from April 16.
Source:Mysteel Global
