Winter suspension of construction grows rebar stocks

SHANGHAI, Jan 4 (SMM) – China's rebar inventories accumulated further this week as more construction sites suspended for winter. The eased impact of winter cuts at the beginning of the year grew production at steel mills, and this also accounted for higher inventories. 

On a yearly basis, rebar stocks fell as downstream demand in the fourth quarter capped inventory growth. 

Overall inventories, including social and in-plant stocks, increased to 5.39 million mt as of Thursday January 3, up 6.8% on the week but down 8.2% on the year, showed SMM data. Both in-plant stocks and social inventories grew on a weekly basis. 

As of Thursday January 3, inventories across steel mills stood at 2.03 million mt, up 6% from a week ago but down 10.8% from a year ago. Social stocks rose 7.2% on the week but dipped 6.6% on the year to stand at 3.37 million mt as of January 3.

For the same week, social inventories of long steel, including wire rods and rebar, in Guangzhou of Guangdong province, also extended gains by 17.3%, or 115,000 mt, and stood at 779,600 mt, SMM data showed.