China stainless steel production rose 10.5% from year ago in Jan-Sep

SHANGHAI, Oct 31 (SMM) – Stainless steel production at melt shops in China came in at 22.49 million mt for the first nine months of 2019, up 2.36 million mt, or 10.5% from the same period a year earlier, according to data from Special Steel Enterprises Association of China (SSEAC) released on Thursday.

Production of 300-series rose 14.68% year on year to 10.74 million mt, accounting for 47.76% of the total, up 2.23 percentage points from the ratio for a year ago.

During the same period, production of 400-series fell 5.06% to 3.94 million mt, while that of 200-series grew 12.52% to 7.67 million mt.

SSEAC also showed that China’s exports of stainless steel dropped 13.54% year on year to 2.71 million mt in January-September, and imports decreased 41.51% to 885,000 mt.

Apparent consumption came in at 18.53 million mt, up 11.64% on a yearly basis.