China’s steel supply & demand cool down
The growth in both supply and demand in Chinese steel market slowed down in May due to macro-economic regulation policy of Chinese government. In the first five months of the year, steel supply amounted to 129 million tons, up by 21.4% compared to the same period of last year, but it is 4.3% lower than the first four months' data. This figure consists of 113.45 million tons of domestic resources and 15.6 million tons of import resources.
In May,
China's steel supply reached 24.9 million tons. This pace is 8.2% higher than the corresponding period of last year, however it is 11.6% lower than the previous month.
The growth in demand for steel slowed while exports continued to increase.
China's steel exports soared by 50% in May from a year earlier to 1.01 million tons. Additionally, steel
consumption rose by 22% in Jan-May 2004 period.