According to estimates from the China Metallurgical Planning and Research Institute (CMIRRI), China’s output of crude steel in 2013 is expected to rise by 4.2% over 2012 to reach 746Mt as steel mills anticipate improved profitability in 2013.

The estimate for the full-year of 2012 is 716Mt, up 4.5% year on year.

Output of pig iron would maintain a 4.0% annual growth to reach 667t in 2012 and 694t in 2013, say CMIRRI in an internally circulated report.

With regard to demand, the institute estimated that the country’s demand of steel products would increase 3.6% y-o-y to 640Mt in 2012, with a 4.1% to 666Mt in 2013.
Demand for iron ore will likely rise 4.6% in 2012 and 4% in 2013 to reach around 1.067bnt in 2012 and 1.110bnt in 2013.

Source: China Metals e-mail chinametal@xinhua.org