China’s steel production continued to slide in October on softening domestic demand and deeper output cuts at mills.
Crude industrial steel production dropped 12% last month from a year earlier to 72 million tonnes, the statistics bureau said on Friday. That left the year-to-date figure 4% behind last year’s pace.
Weakening consumption in Asia’s largest economy and tighter margins are forcing mills to scale back activities. A drawn-out property slump and a softer manufacturing pulse have reduced orders, while persistent overcapacity is keeping prices under pressure. Earlier policy signals urging discipline have added to the caution, prompting mills to trim production.
The number is the weakest October reading since 2021 when the economy was still hamstrung by Covid-19 lockdowns. China’s crude steel output has now dropped for five months in a row.
Meanwhile, high-frequency data from consultancy Mysteel showed that profitability among its sample of 247 steel mills edged lower again last week. Mysteel said the share of mills making money was down 19 percentage points year-on-year.
Futures of steel rebar, used in construction, fell 0.2% on the Shanghai exchange, while hot-rolled coil also declined at 11.48am local time. Singapore iron futures dropped 0.6% to US$102.20.