In the first quarter of the current year, due to the oversupply, slack demand and environmental protection measures, the added-value output of the steel industry in China's Hubei Province indicated a year-on-year decrease of 5.6 percent, as announced by the provincial government in Hubei. Meanwhile, Hubei Province's finished steel output amounted to 7.94 million mt in the first quarter, down 1.7 percent year on year.
As of the end of March, the average ex-works prices of finished steel from Hubei-based steel producers Wuhan Iron and Steel and Echeng Iron and Steel were RMB 2,810/mt ($453/mt) and RMB 2,480/mt ($400/mt), down RMB 550/mt ($88.7/mt) and RMB 380/mt ($61.3/mt) year on year, respectively.