In the January-July period of the current year, China’s crude steel output amounted to 476.04 million mt, down 1.8 percent year on year, as announced by China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). The growth rate in question was 4.5 percentage points lower than that recorded in the same period last year.
In the January-July period of the current year, China’s overall outputs of metallurgical coke and ferroalloys amounted to 263.94 million mt and 20.74 million mt, down 3.9 percent and 2.5 percent respectively, both on year-on-year basis. The growth rates of coke and ferroalloy production in the given period were 3.4 and 11.2 percentage points lower than in the same period of 2014. Meanwhile, in the January-July period this year China’s finished steel exports amounted to 62.13 million mt, up 26.6 percent on year-on-year basis.
As also indicated by the NDRC, in July this year China's average composite steel price index issued by the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) was at 63.45 points, down 28.71 points compared to July last year. In particular, in July of the current year the average prices of 6.5 mm high-speed wire rod, 20 mm common medium plate and 1.0 mm cold rolled coil (CRC) were respectively RMB 2,246/mt ($350.9/mt), RMB 2,146/mt ($335.3/mt) and RMB 2,861/mt ($447.0/mt), down RMB 108/mt ($16.9/mt), RMB 181/mt ($28.3/mt) and RMB 210/mt ($32.8/mt) month on month, while indicating declines of 29.9 percent, 37 percent and 30.5 percent year on year, respectively.