China’s steel industry remained under sustained pressure in the first half of 2026 (H1CY’26), with crude steel output falling 3% y-o-y as the broader economy continued to shift away from traditional steel-intensive sectors. China’s GDP growth slowed to a four-year low of 4.3% y-o-y in the second quarter, bringing H1 growth to 4.7%. Industrial and manufacturing value added still expanded by 5.4% and 5.5%, respectively, but the gains were driven largely by sectors such as electrical equipment, high-tech manufacturing, shipbuilding, and new energy vehicles, which are less steel intensive than property and infrastructure.
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