In May this year, China’s outputs of pig iron, crude steel and finished steel totaled 74.11 million mt, 86.55 million mt and 127.43 million mt, decreasing by 3.3 percent, declining by 6.9 percent and rising by 3.4 percent year on year, respectively, as announced by China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). At the same time, crude steel production in May was 0.6 percent higher than that in April, when it fell more than expected.
In the January-May period this year, China’s outputs of pig iron, crude steel and finished steel totaled 362.74 million mt, 431.63 million mt and 605.82 million mt, decreasing by 0.1 percent, declining by 1.7 percent, and increasing by 5.2 percent year on year, respectively. The crude steel production dynamics turned to negative compared to 0.4 percent increase for January-April, which was connected with decline in April-May on annual basis.
In early June (June 1-10) this year, the average aggregate daily crude steel output of large and medium-sized steel enterprises in China - all CISA members - totaled 2.159 million mt, up 3.2 percent compared to late May (May 21-31) this year, as announced by the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA). This signals about overall still high production levels at big mills, connected with positive margin amid falling raw material prices.