Industrial production in China’s steel industry grew by 3.1% y/y in May

The indicator of industrial production in the steel sector of China in May 2023 increased by 3.1% compared to the same period in 2022. It slowed down growth by 1.2 pp compared with April, when industrial production in steel industry increased by 4.3%. SteelOrbis reports abou it with the reference to the National Bureau of Statistics of China (NBS).

In January-May 2023, the indicator of industrial production in China’s steel sector increased by 5% compared to the same period in 2022. At the same time, in January-April, the growth rate of industrial production amounted to 5.5%.

In general, over the first 5 months of this year, industrial production in China grew by 3.6% y/y. In May, the indicator increased by 3.5% y/y, compared to 5.6% in April. Analysts predicted that the growth rate of industrial production in May will be at the level of 3.6%.

In China’s mining and manufacturing industry, output rose 1.2% y/y in May and 4.1% y/y, respectively.

Chinese industry expects the introduction of additional stimulus for the economy amid weak economic indicators in May and a slowdown in business activity.

As GMK Center reported earlier, in January-May 2023, China increased steel production by 1.6% compared to the same period in 2022 – up to 445 million tons. In May 2023, Chinese steelmakers produced 90.12 million tons, which is 7.3% less compared to May 2022 and less 2.7% m/m.

In May, Chinese steelmakers reduced the production of steel and steel products compared to April in order to equalize supply and demand in an unstable market, as well as to support prices, which have been falling since March. In early June, the Chinese steel market revived, and product prices began to rise.