By Paul Ploumis 24 Jul 2015 Last updated at 02:12:03 GMT

SPOKANE (Scrap Monster): According to the recent data published by the World Steel Association, the crude steel production by South American countries edged higher marginally during the month of June this year. The total monthly output increased by 0.8% to 3.657 Million tonnes.

The total crude steel production by Argentina during June was 445,000 tonnes, down 6.9% than the June 2014 production of 477,000 tonnes. Brazil produced 2.777 Million tonnes of crude steel, rising by 2.1% when compared to 2.719 Million tonnes production achieved during June last year. The Chilean June crude steel production increased 2.8% from 83,000 tonnes in June ‘14 to 85,000 tonnes in June this year. The total crude steel production by Colombia plunged 4.5% to 100,000 tonnes in June this year.

Ecuador’s crude steel declined by 5.9% on year-on-year basis. The crude steel output by Ecuador was 55,000 tonnes in June this year, lower when matched with 58,000 tonnes during June last year.  Paraguay’s crude steel output tumbled by over 10% during the month.

The crude steel output by Peru increased by 19.5% year-on-year. The crude steel output of Uruguay dropped 6.4% from 9,000 tonnes in June last year to 8,000 tonnes in June ‘15. Venezuelan production declined sharply by 7.2% year-on-year from 86,000 tonnes to 80,000 tonnes.

The following table provides cumulative crude steel output for the first six months in 2015 in comparison with those during same period in 2014.

Note: Output in thousands of tonnes