FX.co ★ Steel Holds Gains Amid Rising Output

In mid-September, the futures for steel rebar remained above CNY 3,080 per tonne, buoyed by data revealing that Chinese steel manufacturers produced an average of 2.09 million tonnes of crude steel daily in early September, marking a 7.8% increase from the previous year. Despite this, crude steel production saw a decline for the third consecutive month in August, as operations in Tangshan, China's leading steel production hub, were scaled back during a military parade. Production in Brazil also experienced a downturn last month. On the demand front, persistent weakness in China's property market and construction activities continued to dampen market sentiment. Trade figures indicated a rise in steel product imports by 11.1% to 0.50 million tonnes, while exports fell by 3.4% to 9.51 million tonnes. Additionally, inventories of major steel products have been on the rise since mid-August, highlighting sluggish consumption amid the ongoing property market slump.