World crude steel production rose 3.7 percent year on year to 148.8 million tonnes in February 2024, the World Steel Association reported on 22 March. China was estimated to have produced 81.2 million tonnes in the month, up 3.5 percent on February 2023, as mills returned from the Lunar New Year break. The increase was the first year-on-year rise in global output since late 2023, after January's 1.6 percent decline. The 71 countries reporting to the association account for about 98 percent of total world crude steel production. The February rebound came despite continued weakness in China's property sector, which accounts for roughly a third of the country's steel demand, and despite falling steel prices that were squeezing mill margins. Analysts noted that output was recovering mainly on restocking and export orders rather than on a clear recovery in domestic construction demand.
Source: World Steel Association — https://www.acero.org.ar/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/February-2024-crude-steel-production.pdf
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