Steel holds gains amid rising output

Steel rebar futures held above CNY 3,080 per tonne in mid-September after industry data showed Chinese steelmakers produced 2.09 Mt of crude steel per day in early September, up 7.8% from a year earlier.

Still, crude steel output in August declined for a third straight month as mills in Tangshan, China’s top steelmaking hub, cut operations during the military parade. Output in Brazil also eased last month.

On the demand side, weakness in China’s property sector and construction activity continued to weigh on sentiment.

Trade data showed steel product imports rising 11.1% to 0.50 Mt, while exports slipped 3.4% to 9.51 Mt.

Meanwhile, inventories of major steel products have been climbing since mid-August, underscoring sluggish consumption amid the prolonged property downturn.