Inventories of the five major carbon steel products held by the Chinese steel mills sampled in Mysteel's regular survey reversed up during the period of July 17-23 to reach 4.51 million tonnes, rising slightly by 0.8% on week and ending the decline witnessed over the prior three weeks.

The five major steel items comprise rebar, wire rod, hot-rolled coil (HRC), cold-rolled coil and medium plate. During the survey period, inventories of most major steel items increased by varying degrees except for an on-week dip of 0.5% in stocks of rebar, the survey results showed.

One major reason for the accumulation in mill inventories was the recovery in production, as some Chinese steelmakers resumed operations this week after completing maintenance on their steelmaking facilities, Mysteel Global noted.

Over July 16-22, total production of the five major steel products among the sampled makers registered 8.37 million tonnes, increasing by 1.4% on week after the continuous fall over the previous two weeks.

Meanwhile, domestic steel demand from end users remained dull, as high temperatures and frequent heavy rains in most regions of China continued to hamper outdoor construction activities.

Mysteel's other survey showed that over July 16-22, the combined daily trading volume of construction steel comprising rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil among the 237 trading houses nationwide under its tracking slowed further to reach 82,913 tonnes/day on average, lower by 645 t/d on week.

China's finished steel prices weakened this week amid the poor demand, with the national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar under Mysteel's assessment sitting at Yuan 3,277/tonne ($484/t) including the 13% VAT on July 22, falling by Yuan 13/t from one week earlier. The same day, Mysteel assessed the average price of Q235 4.75mm HRC nationwide at Yuan 3,304/t including the 13% VAT for an on-week drop of Yuan 29/t.

Inventories of the five steel products held by Chinese traders also accumulated this week, with the total tonnage stocked at traders' warehouses in the 132 Chinese cities monitored by Mysteel reaching 19.2 million tonnes as of July 23, edging up 0.6% on week after the short-lived decline over the previous week, the survey findings show.