World steel output still falling

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From the World Steel Association:

World crude steel production for the 66 countries reporting to the World Steel Association (worldsteel) was 139 million tonnes (Mt) in May 2016, a -0.1% decrease compared to May 2015.

China’s crude steel production for May 2016 was 70.5 Mt, an increase of 1.8% compared to May 2015. Elsewhere in Asia, Japan produced 8.8 Mt of crude steel in May 2016, a decrease of -0.9% compared to May 2015. India’s crude steel production was 8.0 Mt in May 2016, up by 4.9% on May 2015. South Korea’s crude steel production was 5.8 Mt in May 2016, down by -3.5% on May 2015.

In the EU, Germany produced 3.9 Mt of crude steel in May 2016, an increase of 4.0% compared to May 2015. Italy produced 2.2 Mt of crude steel, up by 9.3% on May 2015. Spain produced 1.3 Mt of crude steel, down by -10.6% compared to May 2015. France produced 1.2 Mt of crude steel, down by -18.8% compared to May 2015.

Turkey’s crude steel production for May 2016 was 3.0 Mt, up by 5.4% on May 2015.

In May 2016, Russia produced 6.0 Mt of crude steel, up by 0.4% over May 2015. Ukraine produced 2.3 Mt of crude steel, up by 5.7% compared to the same month in 2015.

The United States produced 6.8 Mt of crude steel in May 2016, a decrease of -0.4% compared to May 2015.

Brazil’s crude steel production for May 2016 was 2.6 Mt, down by -13.2% on May 2015.

The crude steel capacity utilisation ratio of the 66 countries in May 2016 was 71.3%. This is 1.0 percentage point lower than May 2015. Compared to April 2016, it is 0.1 percentage point lower.

Despite China’s rebound, global output is still falling. The effect will be more helpful in H2 but is still shaping as very ordinary.

About the author
David Llewellyn-Smith is Chief Strategist at the MB Fund and MB Super. David is the founding publisher and editor of MacroBusiness and was the founding publisher and global economy editor of The Diplomat, the Asia Pacific’s leading geo-politics and economics portal. He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.