In January this year, the purchasing managers’ index (PMI) of the steel sector in China’s Hebei Province increased to 48.2 percent, up 5.5 percentage points month on month, still below 50 percent while indicating a certain improvement, as announced by the Hebei Province Metallurgical Industry Association (MIA). In the given month, the trend of the PMI for the steel sector in Hebei Province was different from that for the whole of China, which decreased by 4.2 percentage points month on month to 43.3 percent, as announced by the China Steel Logistics Committee (CSLC).
In January, the overall new order index for Hebei Province’s steel sector decreased to 43.9 percent, up 7.6 percentage points compared to the previous month.
In January, the production index for Hebei Province’s steel sector remained unchanged at 47.6 percent.
In the given month, the new export order index for Hebei Province’s steel sector rose by 12.1 percentage points month on month, standing at 55 percent. Due to the increasing uncertainties for the future in the export market, steel enterprises focused on increasing exports of steel.
At the same time, the inventory index for finished steel in Hebei Province remained stable month on month, standing at 51.3 percent in January.
In January, the inventory index for raw materials in Hebei Province stood at 56 percent, up 14.5 percentage points month on month amid steelmakers’ restocking of raw materials ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday.
The ex-works price index for finished steel stood at 70.2 percent, up 31.4 percentage points month on month.
In January, the purchasing price index for raw materials stood at 38.1 percent, up 0.3 percentage points from December last year.
Seel prices in Hebei Province are expected to rebound in February due to the anticipated improved demand from downstream users as market players will come back from the long holiday.