In the January-September period of the current year, China’s crude steel output amounted to 608.94 million mt, down 2.1 percent year on year, as announced by China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). The growth rate in question was 4.4 percentage points lower than that recorded in the same period last year.
In the January-September period this year, China’s overall outputs of metallurgical coke and ferroalloys amounted to 338.48 million mt and 27.25 million mt, down 4.7 percent and 1.6 percent respectively, both on year-on-year basis. The growth rates of coke and ferroalloy production in the given period were 4.3 and 8.5 percentage points lower than in the same period of 2014. Meanwhile, in the January-September period this year China’s finished steel exports totalled 83.11 million mt, up 27.2 percent on year-on-year basis.
As also indicated by the NDRC, in September this year China's average composite steel price index issued by the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) was at 61.73 points, down 26.24 points compared to September last year. In particular, in September 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 2,297/mt ($361.7/mt), RMB 2,103/mt ($331.2/mt) and RMB 2,686/mt ($423.0/mt), down RMB 104/mt ($16.4/mt), RMB 99/mt ($15.6/mt) and RMB 55/mt ($8.7/mt) month on month, while indicating declines of 22 percent, 34 percent and 33.6 percent year on year, respectively.