CHINA'S STEEL INVENTORY SWELLS IN 2006.

BEIJING, Jan 1 Asia Pulse - China's steel production hit 424.93 million tons in Jan.-Nov., up 24.8 per cent year on year, according to a report by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) on Dec. 28.

Along with the rising output comes the swelling inventory of major steel producers and fierce price swings.

By the end of November, five steel products - rebars, wirerods, heavy-thickness coils, bars and sheets - reported the highest outputs, with a combined output of 172.9 million tons, which accounts for 67.43 per cent of the country's total steel output.

Six products reported undersupply while eight products - including hot-rolled sheets and railway bars - suffer market's cold shoulders though their production-sales ratio still average more than 98 per cent.

The NDRC says in the report that the supply and sales generally dovetail with each other well.

North China, east China and central south China are the major steel production and marketing sites, while northeast China, though high in steel output, lags behind in steel consumption, followed by southwest China and northwest China, where steel production and consumption are both in slump.

At the time of going to press, ...