Posted on 29 Mar 2012
China's daily crude steel output rose 1.1 percent in the second ten days of March from the preceding period, industry data showed on Thursday, following on from a sharp rise earlier in the month.
Daily crude steel output stood at 1.919 million tonnes during March 11-20, the China Iron & Steel Association (CISA) said, up from 1.898 million tonnes in the previous ten days.
Chinese steel mills have ramped up to production to tap into improving demand in the world's largest consumer, though analysts remain wary that the rapidly growing production may cap gains in steel prices due to slower demand growth.
"Steel supply is rising rapidly, but we don't see much strength for steel demand to rise significantly in the near term, which will be likely to limit steel price gains," said Hu Zhengwu, an analyst with industry consultancy Custeel.com.
Still, Hu expected China's daily crude steel output to reach 1.95 million tonnes in March, compared with daily steel production of 1.917 million tonnes a year earlier.
The following table shows changes in daily output since the beginning of the year.
Period Daily output (mln t) Change (pct)
Mar 11-20 1.919 +1.1
Mar 1-10 1.898 +13
Feb 21-29 1.679 -1.2
Feb 11-20 1.699 +0.2
Feb 1-10 1.696* +1.3
Jan 21-31 1.673 +0.2
Jan 11-20 1.669 -1.3
Jan 1-10 1.691 +3.9
* CISA revised Feb 1-10 output to 1.696 million tonnes from 1.705 million tonnes Compiled by Reuters
