China’s steel inventories are still elevated and there are few indications that steel production is slowing.

In the last 10 days of January, crude steel inventories at China’s major steel mills increased by 1.27 per cent to almost 2.2 million tonnes when compared to the previous 10 day period, according to the most recent data from the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA).

Daily crude steel production at the country’s major steel firms over the same period averaged 1.68 million tonnes, a 0.35 per cent fall on average daily production over the preceding 10 days.

According to the article, last year China’s major steel mills produced over 823 million tonnes of crude steel. However, estimates reveal that the capacity utilisation in the industry could be as low as 64.5 per cent.

This indicates that it’s way too early to start talking about the end of the steel industry’s “winter” period.

The article also notes that as steel mills struggle to find buyers for their products, they’re turning to specialised online platforms to help them find buyers.

Source: Business Spectator