SHANGHAI, Dec 20 (SMM) – Total energy consumption by China’s steel industry in 2018 is expected to grow only 8.9%, smaller than an 11% growth in output, the China Metallurgical Industry Planning & Research Institute said in its recent report on energy-saving across the country’s steel sector.

Energy consumption across the steel sector is likely to see a 3.4% year-on-year decline in 2019, the Institute added.

China’s output of crude steel is estimated to stand at 923 million mt in 2018, up 11% from 2017. Crude steel output is expected to decline 2.4% in 2019 and come in at 900 million mt.

The Institute expects output of pig iron to fall 2.5% in 2019, compared to an anticipated 1.6% growth in 2018.

Steel in China is likely to grow to 10 billion mt by 2020 when supplies of steel scrap grow by 210 million mt. By 2025, steel in China is expected to amount to 12 billion mt and annual addition of scrap supplies would reach 270-300 million mt, which can well supply the electric arc furnaces that produce steel in China.