Hot-rolled coil stocks fall for 3rd straight week

SHANGHAI, Dec 14 (SMM) – Stocks of hot-rolled coil (HRC) across social and in-plant warehouses in China came in at 2.84 million mt as of Thursday December 13, down 5.4% from a week ago but up 3.8% from a year ago, SMM data showed.

This marked the third consecutive weekly decline in overall HRC inventories.

As of Thursday, social stocks declined for seven consecutive weeks to stand at 1.94 million mt, down 4% week on week but up 1.9% year on year. Stocks stood much lower than this year’s average of 2.27 million mt, providing firm support to prices.

For the same week, stocks across steelmakers decreased by 8.3% to 893,100 mt, as equipment issues or maintenance lowered output at some mills. In-plant stocks gained 8.2% on a yearly basis.

Shrinking inventories and expectations of tougher winter curbs in Tangshan, China’s top steelmaking city, are likely to rebound prices into the near term. But we remain bearish on prices in the longer term.