Posted on 17 Jun 2026
Daily crude steel output among the member mills of the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) recovered during June 1-10, with the tonnage growing by 3.8% or 77,000 tonnes/day from last eleven days of May to average 2.08 million t/d, according to the latest release from the association on June 15.
Despite the rise, the average was still lower by 3.5% compared to the corresponding period last year, CISA indicated in the release.
Based on the performance of its member mills, the association estimated that daily crude steel output among all steelmakers nationwide averaged 2.79 million t/d during the period, higher by the same 3.8% from May 21-31, the CISA report indicated.
In its announcement, the association noted the "relatively large fluctuations" in crude steel production and indicated that the conclusion of maintenance outages at certain major member mills may have been a contributing factor.
On the other hand, daily finished steel output among CISA member mills averaged 1.94 million t/d over June 1-10, pulling back lower by 6.4% or 131,000 t/d from the late-May period, the same release showed.
Citing a high base effect from the previous period, the association attributed the modest decrease in finished steel output to the sizable inventories of finished steel built up by several member mills during the late-May period.
But even excluding that factor, daily finished steel output among those mills was still lower by 5% from May 21-31, the report indicated.
Despite the declining production, finished steel inventories held by those CISA member mills accumulated sharply, possible due to the subdued end-user demand over the reporting period, which dampened traders' interest in replenishing finished steel stocks and curtailed the product circulation from steel mills to sellers, Mysteel Global noted.
Specifically, the stocks had swollen by 6.6% or 1.04 million tonnes from May 31 to 16.87 million tonnes as of June 10, another release issued on the same day indicated.
Meanwhile, sluggish spot trading had also narrowed the decline in retail finished steel inventories to almost zero over the period, with the tonnage held by traders in the 21 Chinese cities CISA checks holding largely steady, nudging down by a minuscule 0.1% or 10,000 tonnes from May 31 to 9.38 million tonnes as of June 10, another CISA release showed.
Source:Mysteel Global
