In the January-May period this year, China produced 355.99 million mt of pig iron, 411.75 million mt of crude steel and 488.19 million mt of finished steel, up 1.5 percent, 1.9 percent and 1.2 percent, year on year, respectively, as announced by China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on June 15.
In May alone, China produced 77.32 million mt of pig iron, up 2.4 percent year on year and rising by 7.36 percent month on month, while it produced 92.27 million mt of crude steel and 114.53 million mt of finished steel, up 4.2 percent and 6.2 percent, respectively, year on year, and increasing by 8.5 percent and 7.0 percent month on month, reflecting steelmakers’ willingness to produce amid good demand from downstream users.