China’s crude steel output rose 1.3% on year in H1 despite weak demand
COMMODITIES DATA
China’s crude steel output rose 1.3% on year in H1 despite weak demand
COMMODITIES DATA

China’s crude steel output rose 1.3% on year in H1 despite weak demand

 

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China’s crude steel output reached 535.6 million tonnes in the first half of the year, rising by 1.3% from a year earlier, and output of steel products reached 676.6 million tonnes, rising by 4.4%, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics. 

Notably, crude steel output in Jan-Feb rose by 5.6% year over year, rose by 6.9% in March, before falling 1.5% in April and falling 7.3% in May. The output resumed growth in June, rising slightly by 0.4% from a year earlier.

As of July 14, the average operating rate of blast furnace in the 247 major steelmakers stood at 84.33, falling by 0.15 percentage points from the previous week, but rising by 7.35 percentage points from a year earlier, according to commodity consultancy Mysteel. 

It’s been reported that the Chinese government aims to keep the full-year crude steel output largely unchanged at last year level of 1.018 billion tonnes, which means the industry could face production cut pressure in the second half of the year, said industry insiders.