缺乏冬储的淡季

Investment Rating - The industry investment rating is "Maintain Overweight" for the steel sector, indicating a positive outlook for the upcoming period [36]. Core Insights - The report highlights a continuous decline in daily molten iron production, with an average of 229.4 thousand tons, down 1.3% week-on-week but up 1.2% year-on-year [65]. - Total inventory of five major steel products decreased by 1.8%, maintaining the same decline rate as the previous week, with significant reductions in rebar inventory [70]. - Apparent consumption of five major steel products showed a decrease of 1.2% week-on-week and 1.7% year-on-year, indicating weak demand in the off-season [59]. Summary by Sections Industry Overview - In November 2024, crude steel production reached 78.4 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 2.5%, while the average daily production was 2.613 million tons, down 1.1% month-on-month [35]. - The cumulative crude steel production from January to November was 929.19 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 2.7% [39]. Supply and Demand - The utilization rate of blast furnace capacity among 247 surveyed steel mills was 86.1%, down 1.2 percentage points week-on-week but up 1.4 percentage points year-on-year [65]. - The weekly production of five major steel products was 8.499 million tons, down 1.3% week-on-week and down 6.2% year-on-year [66]. Inventory Trends - The total inventory of five major steel products was 3.506 million tons, down 3.4% week-on-week and down 22.7% year-on-year [70]. - Rebar inventory was reported at 1.203 million tons, down 7.2% week-on-week and down 37.6% year-on-year [70]. Price and Profitability - Steel prices have shown weakness, with immediate gross margins slightly declining, and the profitability rate among 247 steel mills was 48.5%, up 0.5 percentage points week-on-week [24]. Key Company Announcements - Notable announcements include share pledges and planned stock purchases by major companies, reflecting confidence in future growth prospects [13]. Investment Recommendations - The report recommends stocks such as Hualing Steel, Baosteel, and Xinxing Ductile Iron Pipes, which are expected to benefit from the recovery in demand and favorable market conditions [41].