In August this year, the purchasing managers index (PMI) for the Chinese steel sector was at 53.4 percent, down 1.4 percentage points as compared to July, as announced by the China Steel Logistics Committee (CSLC), which is part of the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP).
In addition, in August the production index for the steel sector decreased by 6.7 percentage points compared to the previous month to 50.0 percent. Meanwhile, in August the sub-index for new orders in the steel sector saw a drop of 0.6 percentage points month on month to 58.1 percent.
In the given month, the finished steel inventory index increased to 40.2 percent, down 6.7 percentage points month on month, the index for new export orders saw a month-on-month increase of 9.9 percentage points to 53.2 percent, while the purchase price index of raw materials in the Chinese steel sector stood at 61.7 percent, indicating an increase of 5.5 percentage points month on month.