According to the World Steel Association data, international steel production in April was decreased by 5.1% year-on-year to 162.7 million tonnes (mt). World production has been on the down swing since July last year as China, which makes up over 50% of the output among the 64 countries whose data are taken into credit, has tended to slip up.
International crude steel production dropped for the tenth consecutive month in April this year, pulled by China’s production declining for the seventh month in the running even as India registered a rise. World steel output during January-April this year is estimated at 619.1 mt, down by 7.1% y-o-y. The output witnessed an increase last time in June 2021, when it was up by 11%.
China’s production drop almost matched the decline in global output. The country produced steel 5.2% lower in April. For the first four months of the calendar year, its production was down by 10.3% at 336.2 mt. The fourth wave of Covid and the lockdowns declared by Beijing to stop the pandemic were the reasons why its production was affected earlier.
India’s steel production was increased by 6.2% to 10.1 mt in April compared with the last year. But the production was lower than 10.9 mt in March and 10.8 mt in January. In February, India produced 10.1 mt. For the January-April period, the world steel data showed the output was up 6.5% from the same period a year ago at 42.3 mt.
