In the first quarter of the current year, Chinese steelmakers which are members of the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) posted an aggregate gross profit of RMB 73.4 billion ($11.3 billion), up 247.44 percent year on year, as announced by the CISA.
In the first quarter, CISA-member steelmakers registered an overall sales revenue of RMB 1.5417 trillion ($0.24 trillion), up 52.28 percent year on year.
Qu Xiuli, vice president of the CISA, stated that the continuous improvement in downstream industries resulted in good demand for steel in the given period. In the first three months, the actual steel consumption of the main downstream industries rose by 47 percent year on year, while, in particular, the steel consumption of the construction industry and the manufacturing industry increased by 49 percent and 44 percent year on year, respectively. In the first quarter, China’s apparent consumption of crude steel amounted to 258.96 million mt, rising by 15.3 percent year on year.
$1 = RMB 6.4853