Chinese Cisa steel mills reduced output in mid-March due to weaker steel demand and increasing inventories. China Iron and Steel Association (Cisa) member mills cut crude steel output by 0.51% to 2.048 million tonnes per day from March 11-20, according to Argus Media.

This reduction marked a 9.12% decrease from the previous year. Daily pig iron output decreased by 0.42% to 1.836 million tonnes per day, down by 6.56% from a year earlier. Conversely, daily finished steel output rose by 1.95% to 1.965 million tonnes per day but was 8.05% lower than the previous year.

Cisa reported steel inventories at 19.533 million tonnes, slightly up from the previous period and 3.04% higher than the previous year. The weaker demand post-lunar new year led to rising inventories, estimated to have increased by around 2 million tonnes from early to mid-March, impacting steel prices negatively.