In the first quarter of the current year, China’s crude steel output amounted to 192.01 million mt, down 3.2 percent year on year, as announced by China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). The growth rate in question was 1.5 percentage points lower than that recorded in the same period last year.
In the first quarter this year, China’s overall outputs of metallurgical coke and ferroalloys amounted to 102.68 million mt and 8.16 million mt, down 8.9 percent and increasing by 0.2 percent respectively, both on year-on-year basis. Meanwhile, in the first quarter this year China’s finished steel imports and exports amounted to 3.13 million mt and 27.83 million mt, down 3.3 percent and up 7.9 percent on year-on-year basis, respectively.
As also indicated by the NDRC, in March this year China's average composite steel price index issued by the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) was at 67.13 points, up 8.59 points month on month and down 7.54 points year on year. In particular, in March 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 2,435/mt ($376.4/mt), RMB 2,495/mt ($385.6/mt) and RMB 3,125/mt ($483.0 /mt), up RMB 254/mt ($39.3/mt), RMB 426/mt ($65.84/mt) and RMB 371/mt ($57.3/mt) month on month, while indicating declines of 5.1 percent, 4.7 percent and 10.4 percent year on year, respectively.