South Korean steel bar output shows decline

South Korean steel bar output shows decline

Industry sources reported that despite the boom in the steel industry, output and sales of steel bars in South Korea are falling rapidly due to the slump in construction market. In the first ten months of the year, domestic steelmakers' aggregate output of steel bars decreased by 6.2% year-on-year to 8.8 million tons. Sales of steel bars were also down by 4.8% to 8.9 million tons in the aforementioned period. In October, steel bar sales showed a decline of 7.7% and amounted to 938'800 tons. For the full year, steel bar sales are expected to contract for the first time in the last six years.