China’s crude steel production for September 2015 was down 3% at just over 66Mt. Pig iron output was 56.69Mt, down 4.9% on the year and steel production was down 0.6% to 94.69Mt, according to figures released by China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The figures were part of a report on China’s economic development during the first three quarters of 2015.

Between January and September 2015, China’s crude steel output totalled 608.94Mt, down 2.1% on the year. Pig iron output was down 3.3% at 528.38Mt and steel was up 1.1% at 840.24Mt, according to NBS figures.

• Steel prices in 36 large and mid-sized Chinese cities declined by 0.5% on average between 12-18 October, according to China’s Ministry of Commerce.

Cold-rolled steel sheet dropped 1.1% on the week and hot-rolled strip steel was down 0.9%.