According to the data released by Argentina's chamber of steel, in the first four months of this year Argentina's crude steel production totaled 1.5 million metric tons, decreasing 15.7 percent year on year.
In April this year, Argentina's crude steel output amounted to 428,900 metric tons, falling 8.3 percent as compared to the previous month and down 10.6 percent year on year. According to the chamber's announcement, in April the crude steel production was affected by maintenance shutdowns of some production lines.
On the other hand, the decline in crude steel output has not affected the production of hot rolled or cold rolled steel. In April, Argentina's total hot rolled steel product output amounted to 457,700 metric tons, increasing 0.2 percent month on month and up 2.6 percent compared to April 2012. The country's cold rolled flat steel product output in April this year amounted to 132,700 metric tons, falling 2.3 percent from the March level but up 13.8 percent as compared to April last year.