China’s crude steel production in September was up 11% y-o-y to 65.42Mt and output for the year to September was up 8% y-o-y to 587.38Mt, according to the data from the National Bureau of Statistics.
Daily crude steel output in China has started to top 2Mt since mid-February. Based on this figure, the country’s crude steel output is expected to reach 784Mt in 2013, according to CISA.
By the end of September, steel stocks held by five of the major steel products in 22 major cities stood at about 11.5Mt, reflecting waning demand for steels on the domestic market.
Hebei Iron and Steel saw its average daily output during the period October 11-20th down 8.8kt, the largest fall among all the major steelmakers. Wuhan Iron and Steel ranked second in cuts with a daily fall of 8kt, followed by Xilin Iron and Steel, down 6.3kt daily. Wuhan Iron and Steel and Xilin Iron and Steel carried out maintenance work during this period.
CISA statistics also showed the total stockpiles at major steelmakers stood at 13.788Mt by October 20, up 2.2% from that on Oct. 10.
Source: China Metals e-mail chinametal@xinhua.org
