Steel stocks of Chinese steelmakers decreased by 12.3% m/m in mid-May

In the second decade of May 2023, steel stocks at the main steel enterprises of China decreased by 12.3% compared to the same period in April 2023 – to 16.26 million tons. This is evidenced by China Iron and Steel Association’s (CISA) data.

Compared with the volume of steel stocks for the first decade of May, the indicator decreased by 7.6%.

In this period, Chinese steelmakers produced 22.45 million tons of steel, 19.95 million tons of pig iron, and 21.4 million tons of steel products.

The average daily output of steel in China in the second decade of May decreased by 0.2% compared to the same period in April – to 2.24 million tons, pig iron – by 0.5% m/m, to 1.99 million tons.

As GMK Center reported earlier, the Chinese steelmakers in April 2023 increased steel production by 92.64 million tons, which is 1.5% more compared to April 2022. In January-April, China increased steel production by 4.1% compared to the same period in 2022 – up to 354.39 million tons.

China’s steel production is expected to face more pressure in the second half of the year as the country’s government announced plans to cut steel output from 2022.