1. Report Industry Investment Rating No information provided. 2. Core Viewpoints of the Report - The overall view of steel products is bullish. Last week, the futures market fluctuated and consolidated. Hot metal production increased slightly, the total output of five major steel products decreased slightly week-on-week, inventories accumulated, and apparent demand declined, which was in line with seasonal trends. The divergence between hot metal and steel mill production data was mainly due to the slow recovery of the operating rate of electric arc furnace steel mills affected by poor profitability. Both rebar and hot-rolled coils reduced production and accumulated inventories. The profits of long-process steel mills recovered, while the off-peak electricity profits of short-process steel mills declined slightly, and the scrap-iron price difference widened. After the Spring Festival holiday, the market is focusing on the Two Sessions in March, and current market rumors mainly concern the supply side. The prices of raw materials in the futures market fluctuated downward, with a significant decline in iron ore prices, and the market is paying attention to the first round of coke price cuts. In terms of strategies, more attention can be paid to positions related to steel mill profits [3]. - The rebar spread is neutral. The 5 - 10 month spread of rebar is -33 yuan/ton, showing a slight strengthening week-on-week [3]. - Steel mill profits are bullish. This week, the profitability rate of 247 steel enterprises was 39.83%, a slight increase week-on-week but still significantly lower than the same period last year [3][12]. - Scrap steel is neutral. According to calculations, the current on-peak electricity production of East China electric arc furnace steel mills results in a loss of 150 yuan/ton, and the off-peak electricity production results in a loss of 57 yuan/ton [3]. - Finished steel inventories are neutral. The five major steel products are seasonally accumulating inventories [3]. 3. Summary by Relevant Catalogs 3.1 Market Review - As of February 27, 2026, the daily average pig iron output was 2.3328 million tons, a slight increase of 28,000 tons week-on-week, higher than the same period last year. The blast furnace operating rate of 247 steel enterprises nationwide was 80.22%, a slight increase week-on-week, and the capacity utilization rate of 85 electric arc furnaces was 7.35%, a significant decline week-on-week [12]. - This week, the total output of the five major steel products was 7.9677 million tons, a decrease of 79,800 tons from last week. Among them, the rebar output was 1.651 million tons, a decrease of 52,800 tons from last week; the hot-rolled coil output was 3.0961 million tons, a slight decrease of 2,000 tons from last week; the output of cold-rolled and medium-thick plates increased slightly, and both were significantly higher than the historical average [21]. - In terms of demand, the total consumption of the five major steel products this week was 5.6465 million tons, a significant decline week-on-week. The weekly consumption of rebar was 1.4764 million tons, a slight increase week-on-week, and the consumption of hot-rolled coils was 2.913 million tons, a significant increase week-on-week [41]. - This week, the billet inventory of 55 billet-rolling factories was 530,000 tons, a slight accumulation week-on-week, close to the same period last year. The billet inventory in mainstream warehouses was 2.3389 million tons, a significant accumulation week-on-week, reaching the highest level in history [70]. 3.2 Valuation - Rebar warehouse receipts decreased slightly, lower than the same period last year. Hot-rolled coil warehouse receipts increased slightly week-on-week, slightly higher than the same period last year [97]. 3.3 Balance Sheet The report provides a monthly balance sheet for crude steel from July 2025 to June 2026, including data on initial and final inventories, production, imports, exports, consumption, and surplus. It also shows year-on-year and cumulative year-on-year changes in production and consumption [99].