According to the preliminary data released by the World Steel Association (worldsteel), global direct reduced iron (DRI) production in January this year in the countries reporting to worldsteel amounted to 4.5 million metric tons, decreasing by 18 percent compared to January 2011 and down 16.5 percent month on month. On the other hand, the January production figure of Iran, the world's second largest DRI producer in 2011, has not been reported yet.
The worldsteel data show that India was the largest DRI producer among the countries surveyed in January. India's estimated DRI output was 2.4 million metric tons in January, increasing seven percent compared to the same month of 2011 and up 0.8 percent month on month.