Morning Bites (part 1)

🔗CISA mills daily crude steel output was down 1.2% to 1.96mnt in mid-December from the first ten days of the month. This represented a 3.9% YoY increase, vs. +2.7% YoY in the previous ten days. In turn, steel inventories were up 4.2% over the period (17.8% above the 2021 level, as of 20 December). Overall, the substantial YoY inventories build-up (since end-1Q22) might indicate rather stagnating demand for steel in China

🇨🇳China is to drop the quarantine requirement for inbound travellers from January 8, Reuters reports, citing the country's National Health Commission. Local management of Covid-19 is also to be downgraded to Category B from the current top-level. In our view, the news is likely to support demand for most industrial commodities. For example, China accounted for ~52% of global apparent steel use in 2021. However, the effect on sentiment might be limited, amid concerns about soaring new Covid cases in China

#steel #global
https://metals-wire.com:3000/news-reports