Steel production in China decreased by 4.8% m/m in August

Chinese steelmakers increased steel output by 2.6% y/y in January-August

China cut steel production in August 2023 by 4.8% from the previous month – to 86.41 million tons. The figure fell at a faster pace than the market expected, as some steel companies cut output amid falling margins. Nasdaq reports about it.

Compared to August 2022, steel production in China increased by 3.2%. The average daily output of steel during the month was 2.79 million tons compared to 2.93 million tons in July and 2.71 million tons in August last year.

Only half of China’s steel mills were profitable at the end of August, according to Mysteel data.

In January-August 2023, China produced 712.93 million tons of steel, which is 2.6% more than in the same period of 2022.

The Chinese government has still not confirmed its intention to cap steel production in 2023 under the carbon curb policy introduced in 2021.

«The absence of any publicly announced directive as of September raises doubts that the government will not curb output this year, although state-owned steel giant Baosteel recently said the curb would be extended,» it said.

In September, steel production in the People’s Republic of China is forecast at the level of 89 million tons, as the probability of a large-scale reduction in production among steelmakers during the month is low.

As GMK Center reported earlier, in 2022, China reduced production of steel by 2.2% compared to 2021 – to 1.01 billion tons. Steel production in the country fell due to the slowdown of the economy and the downturn in the real estate market.