SMM PMI for China steel downstream sectors was in contraction territory in December as cold weather hampered construction activity  

SMM PMI for domestic steel downstream sectors was 48.43 in December, down 0.57 points MoM but up 4.11 points YoY. The seasonally-adjusted composite index stood at 49.49, up 0.66 points MoM and 4.20 points YoY.
In a word, extreme weather hobbled production in many construction and infrastructure construction sites in north China, forcing workers to end their work and return to home villages early. In addition, orders in the construction industry kept declining in December. Production of manufacturing sector basically remained stable, but orders were mixed, with good orders in auto and ship sectors and muted orders in machinery sector. Production index stood at 47.32 in December, down 3.15 points MoM and up 8.96 points YoY. The new order index came in at 48.07, up 1.76 points MoM and 1.39 points YoY.