Rebar inventories extend gains in last week before CNY

SHANGHAI, Feb 1 (SMM) – China's rebar inventories, both in-plant and social inventories, extended their growth in the last week before CNY. However, accumulation fell short of the same period last year, on the Chinese lunar calendar basis. 

Overall inventories, including social and in-plant stocks, increased to 7.04 million mt as of Thursday January 31, up 15.1% on the week but down 13.7% on the year, showed SMM data. 

As of Thursday January 31, inventories across steel mills stood at 1.87 million mt, up 6.2% from a week ago but down 8.7% from a year ago. Social stocks rose 18.1% on the week but dipped 15.3% on the year to stand at 5.17 million mt as of January 31.

For the same week, social inventories of long steel, including wire rods and rebar, in Guangzhou of Guangdong province, gained 23.92%, or 242,800 mt, and stood at 1.26 million mt, SMM data showed.