Morning Bites (part 2)

🔗CISA mills daily crude steel output was down 2.4% to 1.92mnt in late December, from the second ten days of the month. This represented an 8.4% YoY drop, vs. the +3.9% YoY in the previous ten days. In turn, steel inventories were down 18.4% over the period (15.6% above the 2021 level, as of 31 December). In our view, the continuous YoY stock build-up (since end-1Q22) might indicate softening demand for steel in China

🚘China's domestic car sales are expected to shrink 12.1% YoY to 2.46mn vehicles in December, according to the forecast from China's Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM). The figure is roughly in line with our estimate, implying total car sales in the country at 26.75mn units for 2022 (up 1.7% YoY). To remind, CAAM also expects higher sales in 2023, which might add support to PGM demand: China’s auto sector accounts for ~26% and 17% of global autocatalyst Pd and Pt demand, respectively

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