According to the data released by the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA), in the first 10 days of August the association's members produced a total of 14.13 million mt of crude steel, while the estimated total crude steel output in China was 17.19 million mt. In addition, for the 10-day period in question the daily crude steel output of CISA members and of all domestic mills was 1.413 million mt and 1.719 million mt respectively, increasing by 29,000 mt and 77,000 mt compared with the last ten days of July, marking the end of a decreasing output trend which had lasted for three consecutive months.
At the same time, in the first 10 days of August the finished steel inventory of the major medium and large size Chinese steel mills observed a decline, with total inventory falling to 8.3 million mt, down by about 1.75 million mt compared with the late July period.