SHANGHAI, Oct 19 (SMM) – Stocks of hot-rolled coil (HRC) in China as of Thursday October 18 stood 10.2% higher than the the second week of October 2017. Inventories also stood higher than a week earlier, suggesting downbeat fundamentals for the HRC market.

HRC inventories across social warehouses and steelmakers lost 3,000 mt, or 0.1%, over the week ended October 18 to stand at 3.46 million mt.

For the same week, social inventories gained 25,000 mt to 2.45 million mt, up 12.1% compared to a year earlier. This marked the fifth straight weekly gain. Weakening demand kept end-users purchasing on demand. Speculative traders also remained cautious in purchasing.

Stocks in Shanghai grew 12,600 mt to 444,100 mt over the week and stocks in Lecong rose by 27,500 mt to 462,100 mt.

HRC inventories across steelmakers shrank 28,000 mt, or 2.7%, this week and stood at 1.02 million mt, up 5.9% from a year ago. Stocks decreased as steelmakers accelerated shipments after the National Day holiday, which is likely to drive up social stocks.