World crude steel production fell 2.4 percent year on year to 161.4 million tonnes in April 2023, the World Steel Association reported on 24 May. China remained by far the largest producer, while output outside China fell for a fourteenth consecutive month as mills in Europe, North America and elsewhere kept cutting back in response to weak orders. The April figures captured a turning point in the market: after a strong first quarter, Chinese steel prices dropped sharply, squeezing mill margins and prompting blast furnace maintenance shutdowns across the country. With demand from the property sector still soft and finished steel inventories high, the early-year optimism about a rapid post-reopening recovery began to fade. The association's data covered the 63 countries reporting to it, accounting for about 97 percent of world crude steel production.
Source: World Steel Association — https://worldsteel.org/more-items/page/7/?tag=statistics
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