Global crude steel output down two percent in Jan-Feb

EU-27 countries produced 14.1 million mt of crude steel in February, down four percent compared with February 2011. In February this year, Germany's output was 3.58 million mt, down by three percent year on year, Italy's crude steel output was 2.42 million mt, up four percent year on year, and Spain's crude steel output was 1.17 million mt, down 14 percent year on year.

Turkey produced 2.76 million metric tons of crude steel in February this year, with a 12 percent increase over the same month in 2011.

The CIS registered a crude steel output of 8.8 million mt in February, down one percent year on year, with Russia producing 5.6 million mt, remaining stable compared to February 2011, and Ukraine producing 2.68 million mt, down two percent on year-on-year basis.

In North America in February, crude steel output reached 9.95 million mt, up nine percent year on year, with the US producing 7.26 million mt and Mexico producing 1.5 million mt, up nine percent and six percent respectively on year-on-year basis.

Meanwhile, crude steel output in South America in February reached 3.8 million mt, up by two percent year on year, with Brazil's output reaching 2.8 million mt, up by three percent year on year.

In the given month, the average capacity utilization of steel mills across the globe was 79.7 percent, up by 3.1 percentage points compared to January this year, and also down 2.8 percentage points compared to the same month last year.

The top 10 crude steel producing countries in February 2012 are as follows: