Retail stocks of the five major carbon steel items held by the Chinese traders that Mysteel regularly checks were largely unchanged on week during August 21-27, according to the results of Mysteel's latest weekly survey.

As of August 27, the combined inventories of rebar, wire rod, hot-rolled coil (HRC), cold-rolled coil (CRC) and medium plate held by traders in the 132 cities Mysteel monitors were higher by a minimal 1,500 tonnes on week at 19.29 million tonnes, the survey results revealed.

Among the five finished steel products, inventories of rebar, wire rod and HRC posted on-week gains though declines in stocks of CRC and medium plates nearly offset those, the survey findings indicated.

Specifically, rebar stocks totaled 7.94 million tonnes as of August 27, edging up by 0.5% or 41,700 tonnes on week, while inventories of medium plate totaled 2.48 million tonnes as of the same day, dropping by 1.6% or 41,400 tonnes on week. These two products posted the biggest on-week changes among the five.

Mill inventories fell moderately this week, indicating a faster flow of goods being delivered from steelmakers to traders. This was partly driven by a recovery in market sentiment, buoyed by firming raw material costs – especially those of iron ore and coke – that bolstered price expectations throughout the supply chain, a Shanghai-based analyst noted.

Stocks of the five held by the 137 domestic steelmakers under Mysteel's tracking totaled 4.07 million tonnes as of August 27, down by 5% or 212,900 tonnes on week.

The improved sentiment, in turn, fueled hopes among both steelmakers and traders for a near-term pick-up in spot transactions. However, actual consumption of finished steel items was varied and kept retail inventories largely flat, the analyst added.

The revival of market confidence had also lent some support to finished steel prices this week, with Mysteel assessing the national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar at Yuan 3,279/tonne ($488/t) including the 13% VAT on August 26, gaining by Yuan 51/t on week. Meanwhile, the average price of Q235 4.75mm HRC nationwide was at Yuan 3,342/t including the 13% VAT, up by Yuan 42/t on week, according to Mysteel's assessment.

Meanwhile, finished steel inventories held by traders in Mysteel's smaller sample of 35 cities also ended the week generally unchanged, with the tonnage amounting to 11.85 million tonnes as of August 27, up by a minimal 0.2% or by 29,500 tonnes from August 20.

Source:Mysteel Global