China | Crude Steel: August Output Falls as Demand and Mill Margins Weaken
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- China produced 74.61 million tonnes of crude steel in August, down by 3.7% year on year.
- Hot-metal production declined by 3.5% to 67.65 million tonnes, while finished-steel output fell by 5.5% to 114.75 million tonnes.
- Typhoons, extreme temperatures and interruptions to construction and transportation weakened steel consumption.
- Higher coking-coal costs squeezed mill margins because finished-steel prices did not rise at the same pace.
- New housing starts fell by 24.8% in January-August, confirming continued weakness in a major steel-consuming sector.
