Chinese steel stocks fall further on sustained demand

Between March 26 and April 1, Chinese steel traders saw their finished steel inventories fall further, with a 1.6 million tonne week-on-week decline, faster than the previous week’s 1.5 million tonne drop, mainly due to further strengthening demand.

Inventories held by traders in 132 cities nationwide thinned 5.1% on the week to 29.7 million tons as of April 1.

Rebar and wire rod inventories were the lowest among the five major steel items, falling 821,900 tons and 393,200 tons, respectively, to 16.3 million tons and 5.4 million tons during the same period.

The inventory decline occurred against a backdrop of stable steel production, with total production of the five steel products down just 22,000 tons to 10.5 million tons in the March 25-31 period.