钢铁行业周度报告：库存持续走低，钢价震荡上行，螺纹消费小幅改善

Investment Rating - The investment rating for the steel industry is "Recommended" (maintained) [1] Core Viewpoints - The steel industry is experiencing a slight improvement in consumption, with inventory levels continuing to decline and steel prices showing a fluctuating upward trend [1][4] Summary by Sections 1. Weekly Data Changes in the Steel Industry - The average daily pig iron output increased to 2.2872 million tons, up 1.1% week-on-week, with a blast furnace operating rate of 79.73%, an increase of 0.87 percentage points [4][10] - Weekly production figures for various steel products are as follows: rebar at 2.2205 million tons (+1.92%), wire rod at 874,100 tons (+8.06%), medium-thick plate at 2.5355 million tons (+0.5%), hot-rolled coil at 3.156 million tons (-2.34%), and cold-rolled coil at 853,700 tons (-0.47%) [4][10] 2. Weekly Data Trends in the Steel Industry - Total inventory for rebar, wire rod, medium-thick plate, hot-rolled coil, and cold-rolled coil decreased by 6.5%, 9.07%, 0.82%, 1.88%, and 0.66% respectively [4][11] - Apparent consumption of the five major materials totaled 9.5788 million tons, a decrease of 0.18% week-on-week, with rebar consumption increasing by 2.28% [4][11] 3. Price and Profitability Trends in the Steel Industry - The comprehensive steel price index rose to 106.78, an increase of 0.16% week-on-week, with rebar prices at 3,803.78 yuan/ton (+1.06%) [4][11] - The profitability rate for 247 steel companies increased to 50.65%, up 2.17 percentage points from the previous week [4][11] 4. Industry News and Company Dynamics - South Steel Co. reported a 5.73% decline in revenue for Q1 2024, but a 47.24% increase in net profit year-on-year [19] - Nucor Corporation reported Q1 2024 revenue of $8.14 billion, with a net profit of $845 million [19] - Ling Steel Co. produced 5.407 million tons of steel in 2023, a 6% increase year-on-year, despite a revenue decline [19]