China’s November Steel Output Falls 6.5% Monthly – Bureau of Statistics

BEIJING: China’s steel output fell 6.5% in November from the previous month, official data on Thursday showed.

China, the world’s largest steel producer, produced 74.54 million tonnes of metal last month, down from 79.76 million tonnes in October, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.

However, production increased by 7.3% compared to the same month last year. Production in November 2021 was his 69.31 million tonnes, the lowest level in years due to massive power shortages and curbing polluting industries.

Average daily steel production was 2.49 million tonnes in November, the lowest in a year, according to Reuters calculations.

China’s sluggish property market has cut demand for steel, and steelmakers in Shanxi and Jiangsu provinces also had to cut output last month to meet capacity control targets, iron ore traders said in the data. said prior to the announcement.

Imported iron ore stocks at Chinese ports rose in November, reaching 138 million tonnes on 25 November before starting to fall, consultant data from SteelHome showed.

Data show that total steel production from January to November reached 935.11 million tonnes, down 1.4% from the same period last year.

This compares with a year-on-year contraction of 2.2% from January to October.

JPMorgan analysts said in a note on Tuesday that “China is headed for stable year-over-year steel production in 2022, which is surprisingly strong considering the weakness in the property sector and the COVID turmoil/rolling lockdown. ” he said.

China’s steel production will fall by 1% in 2023, he added.