Crude steel, finished steel and hot metal output of the China Iron & Steel Association's (Cisa) member mills rose to record highs in late July, but steelmakers' finished steel inventories dropped sharply, according to data released late on Wednesday August 5.
July 21-31 output
Crude steel: 2.39 million tonnes per day, up by 1.59%
Finished steel: 2.40 million tpd, up by 6.89%
Hot metal: 2.12 million tpd, up by 1.07%
Mills' finished steel inventory
13.13 million tonnes, down by 1.25 million tonnes (8.68%)
Spot market inventory
Hot-rolled coil: 1.75 million tonnes, up by 3.6%
Cold-rolled coil: 1.17 million tonnes, down by 2.5%
Plate: 850,000 tonnes, down by 2.3%
Wire rod: 2.10 million tonnes, up by 2.9%
Rebar: 6.70 million tonnes, up by 1.5%
Total (all five major products): 12.57 million tonnes, up by 170,000 tonnes (1.4%).
Cisa's output data for the preceding 10 days can be found here.