In May this year Germany's crude steel output amounted to 4.07 million metric tons, increasing by 87.7 percent year on year and up five percent as compared to the previous month, according to the information provided by the German steel federation Wirtschaftsvereinigung Stahl (WV Stahl). Thus, the country's crude steel output attained its highest monthly volume recorded this year.
Meanwhile, in the January-May period of this year Germany's crude steel production reached 18.89 million metric tons, rising by 66.9 percent as compared to the corresponding period of last year. According to WV Stahl, after the sharp declines in 2009, production has reached approximately the level of early summer 2008. Nevertheless, the situation relating to market conditions remains fragile in the steel industry due to rising raw material costs, and also due to the increasing risks in the difficult and uncertain financial markets.
On the other hand, in April this year, Germany's total hot rolled steel product output amounted to 3.19 million metric tons, up by 79.5 percent, including 2.03 million metric tons of flat steel products - up 91.4 percent, and 1.16 million metric tons of long steel products - up 61.9 percent, all compared to April 2009.