China’s crude steel output in May climbed 8.1% from the previous month and was up 2.7% from the year before, statistics bureau data showed on Monday, thanks to improved domestic demand and robust exports.
The world’s largest steel producer manufactured 92.86 million metric tons of crude steel last month, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed, versus 85.94 million tons made in April.
That represents an average daily output of around 3 million tons, compared with 2.86 million tons in April and 2.91 million tons in May 2023.
The number beat expectations of between 87 million and 90 million tons forecast by analysts ahead of data release.
“The main reason for the monthly increase is decent domestic demand and strong exports,” said Chu Xinli, an analyst at China Futures.
Steel exports jumped by 4.45% from the prior month to 9.63 million tons in May, customs data showed last week.
“Some electric-arc-furnace-based steelmakers resumed production and steel produced from the blast furnace process also picked up last month, partly driven by rising steel prices,” said Jiang Zhenzhen, an analyst at consultancy CRU Group.
An average of 53% of steel mills are operating at a profit in May, compared to 45% in April, data from consultancy Mysteel showed.
China produced a total of 438.61 million tons of crude steel from January to May, down 1.4% year on year.
