China's steel industry has faced difficulties in production and sales since the first working day after the Lunar New Year holiday due to the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak, which has led to some 78,000 infections and close to 2,700 deaths in the country so far.
Here are eight key effects of the outbreak has had on the Chinese steel industry, according to the China Iron & Steel Association (Cisa) and steel majors Baowu Steel and Shagang Steel.
1. Dampened demand
Baowu Steel's steel orders for March dropped 5% month on month from February, vice general manager Zhang Jingang said.
This is especially due to major downstream industries such as building and construction, machinery, automotive, shipbuilding and home appliances delaying their resumption of work, resulting in a sharp drop in steel demand.
Many steel mills are yet to fill their order books for March and April production, Cisa said.
2. Rising steel inventories
Chinese finished steel inventories at mills and on the spot market both increased after the holiday due to lower demand and transportation restrictions.
The spot market inventory of five major products - rebar, wire rod, hot-rolled coil, cold-rolled coil, plate - in 20...