China: Steel inventory, crude steel production of CISA mills up in mid Mar’23

Steel inventory and crude steel production at China Iron and Steel Association (CISA)-affiliated mills rose in mid-March 2023. The manufacturing sector in China is improving which resulted in increasing demand for hot rolled coils (HRCs).

Steel inventory:

• Steel inventory at CISA mills stood at 18.95 million tonnes (mnt) in mid-March. Volumes rose by 1.25 mnt or 7.08% over 17.74 mnt in early-march.
• Inventory dropped by 572,600 t or 2.93% compared to mid-February.
• Inventory increased by 1.83 mnt or 10.7% compared to the year-ago period.

Crude steel output:

• The average daily crude steel output of CISA-affiliated mills stood at 2.25 mnt in mid-March, up 4.71% from early-March.
• The average daily finished steel output stood at 2.13 mnt in the period under review, up 9.9% m-o-m. The same grew by 5.8% y-o-y.
• The average daily pig iron output stood at 1.96 mnt in mid-March, up by 2.34% m-o-m and 9.4% y-o-y.