SHANGHAI, Feb 26 (SMM) – Inventories of steel products at steelmakers in China have climbed to record highs amid the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak.
The China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) said on Tuesday that stocks of steel products at key steelmakers in China stood at 21.34 million mt as of February 20, up 15.27% from 10 days ago.
Notably, this was up 123.88% from the start of the year, as the outbreak slowed demand recovery and caused logistical constraints.
CISA also showed that those mills produced 37.74 million mt of crude steel in the first 20 days of February, with the daily average down 4.18% from January and 2.45% from February 2019.
Daily average output of steel products at those mills, meanwhile, dropped 8.24% from January and 2.43% from February 2019.
