Recovering output in Tangshan bolsters in-plant stocks of hot-rolled coil

SHANGHAI, Sep 14 (SMM) – Stocks of hot-rolled coil (HRC) across Chinese steelmakers grew 2.1% over the week ended Thursday September 13 to 1.01 million mt as mills in Tangshan, Hebei province, gradually recovered their production, SMM believed.

For the same period, limited arrivals shrank HRC stocks across social warehouses by 2.1% to 2.14 million mt. Downstream consumers purchased on demand and trades were brisk when prices dropped.

In-plant stocks stood 20.5% higher than the corresponding period last year while social stocks stood 1.1% lower, this indicated stronger pressure on mills.

Overall HRC inventories, including social and in-plant volumes, came in at 3.16 million mt as of Thursday, down 0.8% from a week ago but up 4.9% from a year ago.