German inventory sales surge in July: BDS

Sales of steel from stockpiles surged in July as destocking from inventories continued by members of the German trade association BDS AG, according to data from the group published Monday.

Sales from stockpiles in long steel products spiked in July, gaining 21.4% month on month to 324,113 mt. Flat steel sales increased 17.3% month on month to 573,485 mt, it said. In comparison to July 2018, long steel was 0.75% lower and flat steel fell 0.69%.

Destocking continued into July albeit at a reduced pace compared to June due to summer seasonality.

Flat steel stockpiles decreased 0.9% month on month to 1.48 million mt, the lowest level since January. They were still 6.4% lower compared to July 2018.

Long steel stockpiles declined to their lowest level since December 2018. Inventories fell 8,769 mt on the month, or 1.0% to 871,188 mt at the end of July, the data showed. They were still 4.54% lower compared to July 2018.

BDS members include ArcelorMittal Distribution, Jepsen Stahl GmbH and Klöckner & Co Deutschland GmbH.

— Len Griffin