Accumulation of Fundamental Contradictions: Risk of Elevated HRC Inventory in Northern Cities

[Accumulation of Fundamental Contradictions: Risk of HRC Inventory Buildup in Some Northern Cities]

Demand side, before the economic meeting in December, HRC temporarily returned to fundamental trading. Downstream sectors had a strong risk prevention awareness, and with the current high HRC prices, end-use sectors showed low willingness to purchase at high prices. Overall demand was average, with a weakening trend.

Supply side, according to the SMM survey, the impact of hot rolling maintenance next week will be 56,000 mt, down 163,000 mt WoW. This week, the blast furnace capacity utilisation rate was 90.55%, down 0.79% WoW, with a slow decline in short-term pig iron production. Overall, the supply pressure of HRC was significant, and fundamental contradictions began to accumulate...