Hebei's steel PMI dips further in December

The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for the steel industry in North China's Hebei province, the country's top steel production base, slipped by another 1.8 percentage points on month to 42.7 in December, staying below the threshold of 50 connoting contraction, according to the Hebei Metallurgical Industry Association.

Hebei's PMI last month was also 4.8 percentage points lower than that of China's national steel PMI, which had declined further by 3.1 percentage points on month to 47.5 in December, as reported. As the winter falloff in steel demand continued in China, the sub-index for new orders received by Hebei's local steel mills dropped by another 7.6 percentage points from November to sit at 36.3 last month. In contrast, the