Data from Germany's Federal Statistical Office show that the country's crude steel output rose 1.4 percent year on year to 4.17 million metric tons in March. However, pig iron output for the same month fell 3.9 percent year on year to 2.54 million metric tons.
Compared to the previous month, March crude steel production rose 9.1 percent while pig iron production increased 4.6 percent.
German crude steel output totaled 12.31 million metric tons through the first three months of the year, up 9.5 percent year on year. In addition, pig iron output amounted to 7.72 million metric tons, up 6.2 percent on the same period last year.