Posted on 31 Aug 2026
Inventories of the five major carbon steel products held by the Chinese steel mills sampled in Mysteel's regular survey continued falling during the week of August 21-27, with the total tonnage slipping for the third consecutive week by 5% on week to 4.07 million tonnes, the lowest since mid-February.
The five major steel items comprise rebar, wire rod, hot-rolled coil (HRC), cold-rolled coil (CRC) and medium plate. During the survey period, inventories of most steel items decreased by varying degrees, offsetting the on-week rise of 2.5% in HRC stocks, the survey results showed.
One major reason for the continuous fall in mill stocks was the further decline in their finished steel output as more Chinese makers conducted maintenance on their steelmaking facilities.
Mysteel's other survey showed that over August 20-26, total production of the five major steel products among the sampled mills touched a two-year low of 7.92 million tonnes, falling for the second week by 1.3% on week.
Domestic steel demand remained weak overall, while transactions in the physical market improved slightly thanks to the replenishment among some end users, Mysteel Global noted.
For example, over August 20-26, the combined daily trading volume of construction steel comprising rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil among the 237 trading houses nationwide under Mysteel's tracking averaged 95,710 tonnes/day, increasing by 4,734 t/d or 5.2% from the previous week.
China's domestic steel prices have strengthened recently, mainly due to the firm cost support provided by increased prices of major steelmaking raw materials such as iron ore and coke.
On August 26, Mysteel assessed the national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar at Yuan 3,279/tonne ($488/t) including the 13% VAT for an on-week rise of Yuan 51/t, while the average price of Q235 4.75mm HRC nationwide under Mysteel's assessment was Yuan 42/t higher on week at Yuan 3,342/t including the 13% VAT.
Meanwhile, inventories of the five products held by Chinese traders were largely stable, with the total tonnage stocked at traders' warehouses in the 132 Chinese cities tracked by Mysteel standing at 19.3 million tonnes over August 21-27, the same level as one week earlier, according to the survey.
Source:Mysteel Global
