Hebei's steel PMI finally expands in October

The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for the steel industry in North China's Hebei province, the country's top steel production base, made a gain of 5 percentage points on month in October to reach 50.7, finally rising above the threshold of 50 connoting expansion, according to the Hebei Metallurgical Industry Association. Prior to this, the index had remained in the contraction zone below 50 for four straight months, Mysteel Global observed.

Nonetheless, Hebei's PMI last month was still 3.9 percentage points lower that of China's national steel PMI, which rose by 5.6 percentage points on month to 54.6 in October. The national index returned to the expansion zone for the first time since March 2023, as reported. The sub-index for new orders received by