In November this year, China’s outputs of pig iron, crude steel and finished steel totaled 67.48 million mt, 78.4 million mt and 118.81 million mt, increasing by 3.9 percent, 2.5 percent and 5.1 percent year on year, while decreasing by 3.96 percent, 4.25 percent and 0.5 percent month on month, respectively, as announced by China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The crude steel production output shifted from the previous increase to a decline in November amid the slack demand from downstream users due to the approach of the traditional offseason and the cold winter weather.
In the January-November period this year, China’s outputs of pig iron, crude steel and finished steel totaled 782.77 million mt, 929.19 million mt and 1283.04 million mt, decreasing by 3.5 percent, declining by 2.7 percent, and rising by 0.9 percent year on year, respectively. The decline in crude steel production was 0.3 percentage points lower than the 3.0 percent decrease seen in the January-October period.
In early December (December 1-10) this year, the average aggregate daily crude steel output of large and medium-sized steel enterprises in China - all CISA members - totaled 2.024 million mt, down 3.2 percent compared to late November (November 21-30).
Total steel production in December is anticipated to decline as the demand for steel may slacken further.