In September, U.S. apparent steel demand grew 5% year over year, but declined month over month; finished steel imports rebounded from a low base, while cumulative imports year to date remained below last year. Goldman Sachs maintained its forecast for full-year demand growth of 2.6%.
In the 10 days through 20 October, China’s daily crude steel output was equivalent to an annualized 865 million tonnes, down 2% from the preceding 10 days. Iron ore prices remain low, while lower freight rates have partly improved miners’ free-on-board prices.
Guosheng Securities is optimistic about demand for IMU data collection driven by robot training, while Changjiang Securities focuses on steelmakers’ cost advantages. Competition for the AI device interface is intensifying, while lower screen production costs are shifting value toward IP and distribution.
Citi’s tracking data show that in the week ended 22 October, apparent steel consumption exceeded production and inventories continued to decline. Cumulative consumption nevertheless remained lower year on year, while hot-rolled and cold-rolled inventories were also above year-earlier levels, indicating uneven improvement across products.
