In mid-May, the inventory of five major varieties of steel in 21 cities was 10.94 million tons, a decrease of 360,000 tons, or 3.2%, from the previous month, and the inventory continued to decline; an increase of 3.42 million tons, or 45.5%, from the beginning of the year; a decrease of 1.14 million tons from the same period last year, down 9.4%. In mid-May, the rebar inventory was 5.27 million tons, a decrease of 230,000 tons, or 4.2%, from the previous month, and the inventory continued to decline; it increased by 2.19 million tons, or 71.1%, from the beginning of the year; it decreased by 920,000 tons, or 14.9%, from the same period last year.