In the January-May period of the current year, China’s crude steel output amounted to 329.95 million mt, down 1.4 percent year on year, as announced by China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). The growth rate in question was 0.2 percentage points higher than that recorded in the same period last year.
In the January-May period this year, China’s overall outputs of metallurgical coke and ferroalloys amounted to 176.60 million mt and 14.13 million mt, down 5.7 percent and increasing by 2.0 percent respectively, both on year-on-year basis. Meanwhile, in the given period China’s finished steel imports and exports totaled 5.32 million mt and 46.28 million mt, down 3.0 percent and up 6.4 percent on year-on-year basis, respectively.
As also indicated by the NDRC, in May this year China's average composite steel price index issued by the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) was at 75.65 points, down 2.77 points month on month and rising by 4.04 points year on year. In particular, in May of the current year the average prices of 6.5 mm high-speed wire rod, 20 mm common medium plate and 1.0 mm cold rolled coil (CRC) were respectively RMB 2,671/mt ($402.3/mt), RMB 2,710/mt ($408.1/mt) and RMB 3,464/mt ($521.7/mt), down RMB 184/mt ($27.7/mt), RMB 143/mt ($21.5/mt) and RMB 78/mt ($11.7/mt) month on month, while indicating increases of 7.6 percent, 8.5 percent and 8.8 percent year on year, respectively.