In January this year, the purchasing managers index (PMI) for the Chinese steel sector was at 43.3 percent, 4.2 percentage points lower than that recorded in December last year, as announced by the China Steel Logistics Committee (CSLC), which is part of the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP).
Moreover, in January, the new order index stood at 41.7 percent, 7.0 percentage points lower than in December.
In January, the production index for the Chinese steel sector stood at 42.5 percent, 5.8 percentage points lower than in December.
In January, the index of raw material purchase volume stood at 47.7 percent, 1.0 percentage points lower than in December.
As for early February, the demand for finished steel is anticipated to remain slack amid the impact of Chinese New Year holiday, though the production of steel may rebound in late February.