China Steel Association: Social inventories of the five major types of steel in 21 cities increased 24.8% year-on-year in late July by 9.8 million tons

The Zhitong Finance App learned that the China Iron and Steel Industry Association released a quarterly report on steel social inventory monitoring in late July 2026. In late July, social stocks of the five major types of steel in 21 cities were 9.8 million tons, up 180,000 tons from the previous month, up 1.9%, and inventories rose slightly; 2.59 million tons, up 35.9% from the beginning of the year; and 1.95 million tons, up 24.8% from the same period last year.

In late July, by region, steel stocks in the seven major regions mostly rose month-on-month. Among them, East China was the region with the biggest increase and increase; inventories in northwest China declined month-on-month; and inventories in central China remained flat month-on-month. See the figure below for details.

Overview of inventory by category

In late July, social inventories of the five major types of steel rose and fell month-on-month. Among them, rebar was the variety with the biggest increase, hot-rolled coil was the variety with the biggest increase, and medium and heavy plate was the variety with the biggest decrease and decline. In terms of comparison, with the exception of medium and thick plates, the stocks of the five major varieties all increased to varying degrees. Among them, rebar was the variety with the biggest increase and increase, as shown in the table below.