According to the latest figures issued by the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA), in late February (Feb. 21-29) this year the average daily crude steel output of the association's member companies came to 1.547 million mt, down 1.32 percent as compared with mid-February (Feb. 11-20).
In late February, the overall average daily crude steel output in China amounted to 1.679 million mt, declining by 1.22 percent from mid-February. Since November last year, China's average daily output of crude steel has consistently been below 1.7 million mt. For the whole month of February this year, China's average daily crude steel output amounted to 1.696 million mt, up 0.93 percent month on month.
Zhu Jimin, CISA chairman and president of Shougang Steel Group, stated that in 2012 China's total crude steel production is expected to increase by approximately four percent year on year, slowing significantly from the growth rate in 2011.