China's social steel inventories of five major products across 21 cities stood at 9.62 million tonnes in mid-July, down 0.7% or 70,000 tonnes from early July, according to data from the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA). Stocks rose 33.4% from the start of the year and climbed 24.1% year on year, adding 2.41 million tonnes and 1.87 million tonnes respectively.