Posted on 21 Mar 2022
Inventories of the five major carbon steel products comprising rebar, wire rod, hot-rolled coil, cold-rolled coil and medium plate at the 184 Chinese steel mills under Mysteel's survey reversed up over March 10-16 after the decrease over the prior two weeks, mainly reflecting the further recovery in output and the lackluster demand.
As of March 16, total stocks of the five steel items registered 6.21 million tonnes, up 4.8% from the previous week. Among the total, the tonnage of rebar and wire rod posted the sharpest on-week rises of 154,700 tonnes and 69,400 tonnes respectively, the survey showed.
Domestic steel mills' production recovered further with the end of Winter Paralympic Games and the 'Two Sessions' political meetings late last week. Meanwhile, some steel mills are still enjoying healthy profit margins for the time being, boosting their enthusiasm for ramping up production, Mysteel Global noted.
Over March 10-16, total production of the five major steel products among the sampled steel mills reached 9.55 million tonnes, reversing up 2.1% on week after the decrease over the prior week, according to the survey.
The rebound in mills' stocks was also blamed on slower transportation due to the resurgence of COVID-19 in many regions. Local governments in the regions where new cases were found have introduced severe measures to contain the virus spread and to achieve Beijing's "dynamic zero" result, as Mysteel Global reported.
Steel demand from end-users recovered further during the traditional peak season for steel consumption, but "the recovery was slower than the market had expected as some end-users have to suspend operations due to the pandemic," a market source in Shanghai said.
Over March 10-16, the trading volume of construction steel comprising rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil among China's 237 traders under Mysteel's regular survey averaged 176,537 tonnes/day, only up 4,750 t/d on week.
Domestic steel prices softened this week, with the national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar, for example, reaching Yuan 4,908/tonne ($773/t) including the 13% VAT as of March 16, losing Yuan 87/t on week, according to Mysteel's assessment.
Over March 11-17, inventories of these five steel products at commercial warehouses in the 132 Chinese cities under Mysteel's survey continued to empty to reach 26.87 million tonnes, lower by 1.5% on week thanks to the fewer arrivals, the survey showed.
Table 1 Five major steel products stocks at mills (Mar 10-16)
|
Product |
Volume ('000 t) |
WoW (%) |
MoM (%) |
YoY (%) |
|
Rebar |
3,077.5 |
5.3% |
-2.6% |
-40.2% |
|
Wire rod |
1,146.1 |
6.4% |
10.9% |
-28.2% |
|
HR sheet |
931.5 |
5.5% |
-3.3% |
-16.7% |
|
CR sheet |
339.4 |
-1.8% |
-17.1% |
-7.5% |
|
Medium plate |
716.5 |
3.0% |
-1.8% |
-25.0% |
|
Total |
6,211.0 |
4.8% |
-1.3% |
-32.4% |
Table 2 Five major steel products stocks at traders (Mar 11-17)
|
Product |
Volume (million t) |
WoW (%) |
MoM (%) |
YoY (%) |
|
Rebar |
13.57 |
-1.8% |
7.0% |
-24.5% |
|
Wire rod |
4.91 |
-2.1% |
1.9% |
-21.0% |
|
HR sheet |
3.85 |
-0.5% |
-4.5% |
-8.9% |
|
CR sheet |
2.22 |
0.3% |
2.6% |
20.7% |
|
Medium plate |
2.31 |
-1.6% |
-7.9% |
-9.8% |
|
Total |
26.87 |
-1.5% |
2.5% |
-18.1% |
Note: Mysteel has started publishing the new set of data regarding traders' steel inventories since March 19 2020 to better represent the market with bigger sample sizes.
Rebar and wire rod: Sample size is increased to 429 warehouses in 132 Chinese cities from the previous 215 warehouses in 35 cities.
Hot-rolled coil (HRC): Sample size is increased to 194 warehouses in 55 cities from the previous 138 warehouses in 33 cities.
Cold-rolled coil (CRC): Sample size is increased to 182 warehouses in 29 cities from the previous 134 warehouses in 26 cities.
Medium plate: Sample size is increased to 217 warehouses in 65 cities from the previous 132 warehouses in 31 cities.
Source:Mysteel Global
