Sales of steel from stockpiles rose 4.69% in September as destocking from inventories accelerated, according to data published by German trade association BDS AG.
Sales from stockpiles increased across both long and flat products categories, while inventory balances continued to decline, indicating an acceleration in destocking.
In September, sales of long products from inventories increased by 19,520 mt to 296,706 mt, an increase of 7.04% month on month.
Flat product sales from inventories also increased, gaining 24,525 mt to 544,599 mt, an increase of 4.72% compared to August.
In contrast, other product sales softened by 1.95% to 98,424 mt month on month.
Inventory balances also declined as the destocking trend continued with total inventories dropping by 84,577 mt to 2.229 million mt, a decline of 3.65% month on month and the lowest stock position since December 2018.
Long steel stockpiles also declined to their lowest level since December 2018. Inventories fell 16,253 mt on the month, or 1.91% to 833,543 mt at the end of September, the data showed. They were about 4.09% lower compared to September 2018.
Flat steel stockpiles saw a stronger destocking rate, losing 5.15% month on month to 1.34 million mt, their lowest level in 3 years. They were 16.29% lower compared to September 2018.
BDS members include ArcelorMittal Distribution, Jepsen Stahl GmbH and Klöckner & Co Deutschland GmbH.
