In September this year, China’s outputs of pig iron, crude steel and finished steel totaled 66.76 million mt, 77.07 million mt and 117.31 million mt, decreasing by 6.7 percent, 6.1 percent and 2.4 percent year on year, while declining by 2.03 percent, decreasing by 1.09 percent and rising by 5.78 percent month on month, respectively, as announced by China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The decrease in crude steel production slowed down following the month-on-month decrease of 6.05 percent recorded in August, amid the improved demand from downstream users due to China’s announcement of stimulus policies since late September.
In the January-September period this year, China’s outputs of pig iron, crude steel and finished steel totaled 644.43 million mt, 768.48 million mt and 1044.48 million mt, decreasing by 4.6 percent, 3.6 percent, and 0.1 percent year on year, respectively. The decline in crude steel production was 0.3 percentage points higher than the 3.3 percent decrease seen in the January-August period.
In early October (October 1-10) this year, the average aggregate daily crude steel output of large and medium-sized steel enterprises in China - all CISA members - totaled 2.049 million mt, up 1.7 percent compared to late September (September 21-30) this year, following the rise of 1.3 percent recorded in late September compared to mid-September.
Total steel production in October is anticipated to increase as the market will still be in the traditional peak season for business, while China’s stimulus policies will boost market sentiments and exert a positive impact on the real estate sector, which in turn will stimulate the demand for steel.