In June this year, China’s outputs of pig iron, crude steel, and finished steel totaled 71.91 million mt, 83.18 million mt, and 127.84 million mt, decreasing by 4.1%, declining by 9.2%, and rising by 1.8% year on year, respectively, as announced by China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The year-on-year drop in crude steel output in June was the highest this year, and output is expected to remain below 85 million mt for a few months ahead. Compared to May, crude steel production lost 3.89% as more mills started maintenance at the beginning of the offseason for demand.
Also, mills using EAFs had to cut utilization rates due to high domestic scrap prices and losses compared to the improved profits of producers using iron ore for steel production.
Though weak domestic demand is the main reason behind the production declines in China, the pressure from the export market also increased with June export shipments falling below 10 million mt.
In the January-June period this year, China’s outputs of pig iron, crude steel, and finished steel totaled 434.68 million mt, 514.83 million mt, and 734.38 million mt, decreasing by 0.8%, declining by 3.0%, and increasing by 4.6% year on year, respectively
