Crude steel output grows slower in Jan-Sep

SHANGHAI, Oct 30 (SMM) – In the first three quarters of the year, China’s output of crude steel grew 0.2 percentage point slower compared to a year ago while output of steel products grew 6 percentage points faster, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said on Tuesday October 30.

Chinese steelmakers produced 699.42 million mt of crude steel in January-September, 6.1% higher than the same period last year. 

In the same period, China produced 821.01 million mt of steel products, up 7.2% from a year earlier. 

In the first nine months of the year, China exported 53.08 million mt of steel products, down 10.7% year on year, and imported 9.97 million mt, down 0.4%. A total of 803.34 million mt of seaborne iron ore concentrate entered Chinese markets in the same period, standing 1.6% lower than the corresponding period last year.

The NDRC said that its composite steel price index increased by 1.41 points to 121.96 points in September, up 5.54 points from a year ago. Average prices of 6.5-mm wire rod that was produced in high-speed lines and 20-mm plates went up 95 yuan/mt and 36 yuan/mt, respectively, from August while average prices of 1-mm cold-rolled coil went down 353 yuan/mt.

In the first eight months, profits across the Chinese steel sector rose 73.1% from a year earlier to 311.7 billion yuan, showed data from the NDRC.