In the January-May period this year, China’s outputs of pig iron, crude steel and finished steel amounted to 374.74 million mt, 444.63 million mt and 557.06 million mt, increasing by 3.2 percent, 1.6 percent and 3.2 percent, year on year, respectively, as announced by China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on June 15.
In May alone, China’s outputs of pig iron, crude steel and finished steel totaled 77.00 million mt, 90.12 million mt and 118.47 million mt, down 4.8 percent, down 7.3 percent and down 1.3 percent, year on year, while down 1.08 percent, 2.72 percent and 1.23 percent, month on month, respectively.
The average steel prices in China indicated a declining trend until late May but have rebounded since then amid production reductions in June.