According to the latest official statistics released by the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA), in June China's 71 large and medium steel mills registered a combined profit of RMB 3.545 billion ($519 million) after suffering losses for the previous eight consecutive months. In the January-June period, the overall profits of China's large and medium mills totaled RMB 1.725 billion ($253 million).
In June, of the mills in question, eight were still in the red, whereas in May the figure was 20.
In the first half of 2009, two thirds of the 24 Chinese steel producers with annual capacities of over 5 million mt were in the red, while six of the 10 producers with annual capacities of more than 10 million mt suffered losses.