In October this year, China’s outputs of pig iron, crude steel and finished steel totaled 69.19 million mt, 79.09 million mt and 113.71 million mt, decreasing by 2.8 percent, declining by 1.8 percent and up 3.0 percent year on year, while declining by 3.3 percent, 3.7 percent and 3.5 percent month on month, respectively, as announced by China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on November 15.
Import iron ore prices moved on a continuous rising trend in the given period, exerting a negative impact on China’s crude steel production.
Average steel prices moved on a downtrend in October as demand did not show any significant improvement, while cautious sentiments prevailed among market players.
In the January-October period this year, China’s outputs of pig iron, crude steel and finished steel amounted to 744.75 million mt, 874.7 million mt and 1144.18 million mt, increasing by 2.3 percent, 1.4 percent and 5.7 percent year on year, respectively. The crude steel production increase rate was slower compared to the 1.7 percent rise recorded in the January-September period.