Chinese crude steel output is expected to decrease by 0.7 percent in 2020 to 981 million mt, according to a forecast made by the China Metallurgical Industry Planning and Research Institute (MPI) on December 12.
According to the report, in 2019 China’s crude steel output will likely amount to 988 million mt, up 6.5 percent year on year. In the January-October period of the year, China produced 829.22 million mt of crude steel, up 7.4 percent year on year, according to the data issued by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
MPI president Li Xinchuang stated that China’s crude steel output and demand will fluctuate around peak levels, but will then follow a slow downtrend in the future.
Mr. Li also mentioned that China’s steel consumption has risen quite rapidly in 2019 due to the stable development of the domestic economy, while China’s GDP will likely see slower growth in 2020, which will drag down demand for steel. Demand from construction, automobile and shipbuilding industries will slow down, while demand from energy and home appliances will keep growing, though demand from the machinery industry will remain almost unchanged.
Based on different calculations, China’s steel consumption volume will amount to 886 million mt in 2019, up 7.3 percent year on year, and will total 881 million mt in 2020, down by 0.6 percent year on year.