The Ministry of Commerce responds to the management of steel export licenses, and Jiangsu’s winter stockpiling of scrap steel shrinks in scale.

◎ The Ministry of Commerce responded to China’s decision to once again implement export licensing for steel products, stating that the primary purpose is to strengthen monitoring, statistical analysis, and tracking of the quality of exported steel products. Such management complies with WTO rules and does not involve restrictions on export volumes or qualifications of enterprises.

◎ Luo Tiejun, a member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee and Vice President of the China Iron and Steel Association, stated that, before the new mechanism for managing steel production capacity is fully established, industry self-discipline and spontaneous production control are crucial choices for promoting high-quality development in the sector.

◎ According to a survey by Mysteel, among the 11 sampled steel mills in Jiangsu Province, six mills explicitly stated that they plan to stockpile scrap steel for winter use, accounting for approximately 55%. The survey also showed that both the number of steel mills planning to stockpile for winter and the volume of scrap steel to be stored in 2025 are mostly lower than in 2024, with only two mills maintaining last year’s planned storage levels. Read more>>

◎ This week, supply of the five major steel products totaled 7.9797 million tons, down 82,500 tons from the previous week, representing a decrease of 1%. Total inventory stood at 12.9478 million tons, falling by 3.731 million tons from the previous week, or a decline of 2.8%. Consumption reached 8.3528 million tons, down 0.5%. Among these, construction material consumption rose by 2.4% from the previous week, while sheet product consumption fell by 2% from the previous week.

◎ The National Development and Reform Commission issued a document titled “Focusing on Expanding Effective Investment,” which emphasizes concentrating on developing new-quality productivity tailored to local conditions, promoting technological upgrades and transformations in traditional industries, expanding effective investment in emerging industries, and proactively planning for future industrial projects.

◎ The State Administration for Market Regulation held an expanded meeting of the Party Group of the Administration. The meeting called for stepping up efforts to advance the construction of a nationwide unified market, strengthening governance for fair competition, and promoting smooth economic circulation. It also emphasized the need to comprehensively address “involution-style” competition and foster a market order characterized by high quality commanding premium prices and healthy competition.

◎ Wu Qing of the China Securities Regulatory Commission stated that they will steadily advance the preparation and implementation of the “15th Five-Year Plan” for the capital market, continue to deepen the comprehensive reform of investment and financing in the capital market, steadily expand high-level institutional opening-up, and continuously enhance the inclusiveness and attractiveness of the capital market’s institutional framework.

◎ In November, the U.S. core CPI rose 2.6% year-on-year, marking the slowest pace since early 2021 and falling short of the market’s expectation of 3%. The overall CPI rose 2.7% year-on-year, also below the expected 3.1%.

◎ U.S. initial jobless claims fell by 13,000 from the previous week to 224,000, slightly below market expectations. The number of continuing jobless claims rose by 67,000 from the prior week to 1.897 million, lower than the expected 1.93 million.

◎ The European Central Bank kept its key interest rate unchanged at 2% for the fourth consecutive time, in line with market expectations.

◎ The Bank of England has lowered its benchmark interest rate from 4.00% to 3.75%, the lowest level in nearly three years.

◎ On December 18, the nationwide spot trade volume of iron ore at major ports reached 982,000 tons, an increase of 18.2% from the previous month. Meanwhile, the trade volume of construction steel among 237 leading traders totaled 102,200 tons, up 2.8% from the previous month.

◎ This week, the average profit per ton of coke at 30 independent coking plants nationwide was 16 yuan/ton; the average profit for Grade-1 coke in Shanxi was 35 yuan/ton, while the average profit for Grade-1 coke in Shandong was 65 yuan/ton. In Inner Mongolia, the average loss for Grade-2 coke was 23 yuan/ton.

◎ This week, the total inventory of imported sintered ore at 114 steel mills reached 27.0207 million tons, a decrease of 3.607 million tons from the previous period. The total daily consumption of imported sintered ore was 1.0877 million tons, down 31,400 tons from the previous period.

◎ In November, the output of iron concentrate from 433 iron ore mining enterprises nationwide totaled 22.811 million tons, a decrease of 1.29 million tons month-on-month. From January to November, the cumulative output reached 252.471 million tons, down 85.76 million tons year-on-year.

◎ This week, the capacity utilization rate of the 523 sampled coking coal mines was 86.6%, up 1.3% from the previous week. The average daily raw coal production reached 1.927 million tons, an increase of 29,000 tons from the previous week.

◎ This week, the inventory of steel billets at major warehouses and ports in Tangshan, measured on a comparable basis, stood at 1.2508 million tons, an increase of 30,300 tons from the previous week.

◎ On December 18, the average cost of construction steel from 76 independent electric arc furnace steel mills was 3,322 yuan per ton, up 1 yuan per ton from the previous day. The average profit loss was 16 yuan per ton, while the profit from off-peak electricity usage stood at 97 yuan per ton, an increase of 3 yuan per ton from the previous day.

◎ Pangang Group Panzhihua Steel & Vanadium plans to shut down and overhaul a 1,200 m³ blast furnace starting December 19. The overhaul is expected to reduce daily molten iron production by approximately 35,000 tons, and the resumption of production is yet to be determined.

◎According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, in November 2025, China’s steel rebar production totaled 13.751 million tons, down 17.6% year-on-year. From January to November cumulatively, production reached 172.953 million tons, a decrease of 3.2% compared to the same period last year. The production figures for other major industrial products are as follows:

◎ According to data from the General Administration of Customs, in November 2025, China exported 6 million tons of steel plates, unchanged year-on-year. From January to November cumulatively, exports totaled 66.45 million tons, down 3.2% year-on-year. The import and export situation for other major industrial products is as follows:

◎ The Dalian Commodity Exchange issued a notice stating that, starting from the trading session on December 23, non-futures company members or clients shall not open more than 500 contracts per day in platinum futures and palladium futures contracts, respectively. Starting from the trading session on December 22, the minimum order quantity for each opening position in polysilicon futures contracts will be adjusted from 1 contract to 5 contracts per order.

◎ A newly discovered massive underwater gold deposit—the only one of its kind in China and the largest in Asia—has been found in the northern waters off Sanshan Island, Laizhou City, Shandong Province. The city’s total proven gold reserves now exceed 3,900 tons, accounting for approximately 26% of the nation’s total. Both the city’s gold reserve volume and production rank first in the country.

◎ The China Index Academy forecasts that total housing demand in urban areas nationwide over the next five years will amount to approximately 4.98 billion square meters. Based on a conversion rate ranging from 70% to 80%, the average annual sales area of newly built commercial residential properties over the next five years is expected to be between 700 million and 800 million square meters.

18:00 The German central bank releases its updated economic outlook; ECB Governing Council member Kazaks delivers a speech.

19:00 ECB Governing Council Member Alvaros Pereira delivers a speech in Lisbon;

20:00 ECB Executive Board Member Cipollone delivers a speech; Governor Nabiullina of the Central Bank of Russia holds a press conference on monetary policy.

23:00 U.S. November Existing Home Sales.

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