According to the figures released by the Italian steel producers association Federacciai, in August this year Italian crude steel output decreased by 15.5 percent year on year, totaling 1.22 million metric tons. August is the fifth month in a row in which a year-on-year output fall has been recorded. Moreover, the downtrend has increased its pace as Federacciai posted year-on-year crude steel production decreases of 1.8 percent in May, 7.3 percent in June and 8.9 percent in July.
In the first eight months of the current year, total Italian crude steel output amounted to 18.489 million mt, down 1.9 percent compared to the same period of 2011.