MYSTEEL: Will China's HRC supply-demand imbalance correct itself before October ends?

For China’s steelmakers, time is running out. The country’s ‘Golden September and Silver October’ period – terms favored by Chinese realtors for the best months to promote property sales – is fast coming to an end, and the two months this year have brought little of the prosperity for steelmakers that the names promise.

September's economic indicators lately released from central government agencies still pointed to insufficient domestic demand. The steel industry reflected a similar trend, with China's Purchasing Managers' Index for the steel industry, for example, registering 47.7 in September, down from August's 49.8 and making the second consecutive month of decline, as