钢铁行业周报：继续看好钢铁板块投资机会

Investment Rating - The report maintains an "Overweight" rating for the steel sector, consistent with the previous rating [1]. Core Viewpoints - The steel sector is currently at a bottoming phase, with expectations for demand improvement and supply restructuring, leading to enhanced competitive advantages for industry leaders [2]. - Recent government policies are expected to continue boosting demand expectations, with mergers and acquisitions likely accelerating in the industry [5]. Summary by Sections Steel Market Overview - The apparent consumption of major steel products was 8.917 million tons, a decrease of 0.23% week-on-week and a year-on-year decline of 7.71% [12]. - The total inventory of major steel products decreased, with social inventory at 8.2795 million tons, down 0.2018 million tons week-on-week [9][11]. Production and Profitability - The production of steel decreased to 8.6728 million tons, a week-on-week decline of 0.133 million tons [20]. - The simulated profit for rebar production increased to 308.6 CNY/ton, up 36.8 CNY/ton week-on-week, while hot-rolled coil profit rose to 208.6 CNY/ton, an increase of 26.8 CNY/ton [23]. Raw Materials - Iron ore spot prices decreased slightly, while futures prices increased, indicating a mixed market [27]. - The port inventory of iron ore rose to 154.1998 million tons, reflecting a week-on-week increase of 0.51% [31]. Industry Dynamics - The operating rate of blast furnaces among 247 steel mills increased to 82.44%, a rise of 0.30 percentage points week-on-week [15]. - The profitability rate of steel companies was reported at 61.04%, down 3.9 percentage points from the previous week [15].