In March this year, value-added industrial output in the ferrous metal smelting and rolling sector in China rose by 4.1 percent year on year, indicating a big improvement compared to the 2.0 percent decline recorded in the January-February period of the year due to the resumption of production following effective control of the coronavirus in China, as announced by China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
China's overall value-added industrial output decreased by 1.1 percent year on year in March, 12.4 percentage points slower than the decrease of 13.5 percent recorded in the January-February period of the year, while the overall value-added industrial output increased by 32.13 percent month on month in March, according to the same source. China's overall value-added industrial output decreased by 8.4 percent year on year in the first three months.
In the January-March quarter, of the 41 industrial sectors in China, 16 witnessed year-on-year increases in value-added industrial output. Outputs in the mining and manufacturing sectors increased by 4.2 percent and decreased by 1.8 percent, year on year respectively.
The resumption of production in China in March contributed to the improvement in the value-added industrial output, though market analysts have said that the improvement was weaker than expected and that accordingly they expect a further stimulus policy to be issued by China at the coming National People’s Congress and the Chinese Political Consultative Conference (NPC & CPPCC).