Hebei's steel PMI falls 6.6 points to 46.5 in June

The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for the steel industry in North China's Hebei province – the country's top steel production base – fell 6.6 points on month to 46.5 in June, according to the new data released by the Hebei Metallurgical Industry Association, well below the 50 threshold and showing a clear contraction in sentiment among steel buyers.

The Hebei reading was also 1.3 percentage points lower than China's national steel PMI, which dipped by a marginal 0.1 points from May to sit at 47.8 in June, as Mysteel Global had reported. This marked the first time this year that Hebei's PMI came in lower than the national steel PMI, Mysteel