钢铁行业周报：需求季节性回升，去库持续

Investment Rating - Industry investment rating: "Overweight" (maintained) [3] Core Viewpoints - The steel sector experienced a seasonal demand recovery, with inventory reduction continuing [6][8] - The steel price index showed mixed trends across five major steel products, while the profitability of steel mills remained stable [7] - Short-term demand recovery is expected due to seasonal factors and supportive economic policies, with a focus on high-efficiency green steel enterprises for investment value [8] Summary by Sections Industry Performance - The steel sector rose by 1.48% last week (March 10-14), underperforming the CSI 300 index by 0.11 percentage points [5] - The sector's PE valuation stands at 16.5 times, at the 71.4 percentile over the past decade, while the PB valuation is at 1.03 times, at the 39.8 percentile [5] Supply and Demand Data - As of March 14, the operating rate of sampled steel mills was 80.6%, up by 1.07 percentage points week-on-week, with a total iron output of 2.3065 million tons [6] - Weekly apparent consumption of five major steel products reached 8.8388 million tons, a week-on-week increase of 3.61% [6] - Total inventory of five major steel products decreased to 18.293 million tons, down by 1.69% week-on-week [6] Price and Profitability Data - The price indices for five major steel products as of March 14 were as follows: rebar at 3406 CNY/ton, wire rod at 3570 CNY/ton, medium-thick plate at 3599 CNY/ton, hot-rolled coil at 3488 CNY/ton, and cold-rolled coil at 4209 CNY/ton [7] - The profitability rate of 247 sampled steel enterprises remained stable at 53% [7] Investment Recommendations - The combination of seasonal demand recovery and economic growth policies is expected to support steel prices [8] - The industry is anticipated to accelerate its transition towards high-end and green production, making high-efficiency green steel companies more attractive for investment [8] - Long-term investment value is seen in leading companies with scale advantages as the industry undergoes high-quality development and regional capacity consolidation [8]