In 2018, China’s crude steel output amounted to 928.26 million mt, up 6.6 percent year on year, as announced by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). In the given year, China’s finished steel output and coke output amounted to 1.10552 billion mt and 438.20 million mt, up 7.7 percent and 0.8 percent year on year, respectively.
As also indicated by the NDRC, in December last year China's average composite steel price index issued by the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) was at 107.44 points, down 7.7 points compared to November and decreasing by 16.61 points year on year.
In particular, in December 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 at RMB 4,019/mt ($597.2/mt), RMB 3,879/mt ($576.4/mt) and RMB 4,376/mt ($650.2/mt), declining by RMB 402/mt ($59.7/mt), RMB 261/mt ($38.8/mt) and RMB 238/mt ($35.4/mt), all compared to November. The prices in question rose by 12.9 percent, declined by 10.6 percent and decreased by 12.9 percent on year-on-year basis, respectively.
