WEEKLY: Chinese mills' steel stocks edge down

Inventories of the five major carbon steel items held by the 184 Chinese steel mills sampled in Mysteel's regular survey edged down during December 21-27, ending the continuous rise over the prior four weeks, with the volume lower by 0.5% on week at 4.5 million tonnes. The five major steel products comprise rebar, wire rod, hot-rolled coil, cold-rolled coil and medium plate.

The retreat was mainly attributed to the further decrease in domestic mills' steel output, as more Chinese steelmakers conducted maintenance on their steelmaking facilities or slowed their production pace during the survey period, Mysteel Global learned. Makers were responding to shrinking profit margins and the impact of production restrictions