China Macro & Metals: Steel output falls, but property creates bright spots
Chinese steel production posted a rare drop in October, while domestic steel prices have been buoyed by the property sector. Paul Bartholomew and Sebastian Lewis analyze China’s key economic indicators, and what they mean for the metals sector.
Crude steel production growth falls for first time in nearly 4 years
China’s crude steel production fell 1% on year in October, marking the first time output has contracted since the beginning of 2016. The fall was mainly due to production cuts in northern China to “keep the skies blue” over the 70th Anniversary of the People’s Republic of China celebrations and Golden Week holiday in early October. October was the second consecutive month of slowing steel production growth.
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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.
