The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for the steel sector in northern China's Hebei province rebounded by 5.6 percentage points (pps) month on month to 50.7 in November this year, as data from the province's Metallurgical Industry Association showed.

The November PMI index snapped a three-month consecutive decline in the province and rebounded to expansion zone again.

In November, the new order index for Hebei's steel sector stood at 50, up 7.5 pps month on month. Steel products prices were quite robust through the whole month, and market sentiment was bolstered further by increased futures prices.

In the month, the new export order index was at 50, up by 9.1 pps, stimulated by multiple favorable factors in the global market, such as the Federal Reserves' easing on rate increase and warming Sino-American relation, which provided support to steel products exports.

The production index was at 53.5, jumping 15.4 pps. Steelmakers' profit margins improved and they became more active in production.

At the same time, the inventory index for finished steel in Hebei rose 63.6 pps to 79.1 in November, while the inventory index for raw materials dropped 10.4 pps to 38.4.

China has launched a series of economic stimulus policies to revive the property industry, cheering up market sentiment. This, combined with contracted supply and stronger cost support, bolstered up steel products prices.