Global
steel production dropped in January and China's output fell by 13% due to weak
demand from industrialists and uncertain economic prospects, data from a
producer's body showed on Tuesday.
According
to World Steel Association Data, world crude steel production as compared to
last year in January fell 7.8 percent to 117 million tonnes this year whereas
its crude steel output fell 13 percent to 52.1 million tonnes in the same
period.
“It's
a hefty fall, but it's a slight bounce back compared with last month,” Macquarie steel and iron ore analyst Colin Hamailton said.
“Last
year was phenomenally strong and the industrial sector looked to be
accelerating rapidly, while this year things don't look horrendous, but demand
from some industrial sectors such as Chinese construction is relatively weak”, he added.
The
global crude steel capacity utilization rate fell 9.6 percent yoy to 71.3
percent in January 2012, but it registered a slight rebound of 0.5 percent
compared with December 2011.
Steel
production in Japan was down 10.6% yoy to 8.6 million tones in January. A
strong yen has also affected Japan's export competitiveness and has weighed on
Japanese steelmakers' profits.
In
the U.S., January steel production remained in a positive territory. It rose by
5.7% to 7.6 million. In the last few months steel demand in the largest economy
was relatively strong which supported steel prices and production level. However, steel demand in the region fell 5.6%
in January to 13.9 million tones.
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