钢铁行业周报：变与不变

Investment Rating - The report maintains a "Buy" rating for several companies in the steel industry, including Xining Special Steel, Baosteel, and Hualing Steel [8]. Core Viewpoints - The steel industry is experiencing a recovery in production, with daily pig iron output increasing by 20,000 tons to 2.36 million tons, and the capacity utilization rate for blast furnaces at 88.6%, up 0.8 percentage points month-on-month [17][18]. - Inventory levels are decreasing, with total steel inventory down by 1.2% week-on-week, and social inventory for five major steel products at 8.127 million tons, down 0.9% [28][29]. - Apparent consumption of steel products has slightly decreased by 0.1% week-on-week, with rebar consumption showing a year-on-year decline of 15.8% [42][43]. Summary by Sections Supply - Daily pig iron production has increased, with the average daily output reaching 2.36 million tons, reflecting a month-on-month increase of 0.9% [17]. - The capacity utilization rate for 247 sampled steel mills is 88.6%, indicating a recovery in production levels [17]. Inventory - Total steel inventory has decreased by 1.2% week-on-week, with social inventory for five major steel products at 8.127 million tons, down 0.9% year-on-year [28]. - Rebar social inventory is reported at 2.961 million tons, showing a month-on-month increase of 2.6% [28]. Demand - Apparent consumption of five major steel products is 8.766 million tons, reflecting a slight decrease of 0.1% week-on-week and a year-on-year decline of 5.4% [42]. - The weekly transaction volume for construction steel has decreased by 9.9% compared to the previous week [43]. Raw Materials - Iron ore prices have declined, with the Platts 62% iron ore price index at $98.7 per ton, down 4.0% week-on-week and 22.7% year-on-year [50]. - The average daily iron ore output has slightly increased, but terminal demand for steel remains weak, leading to a potential short-term decline in iron ore prices [47].