China\u2019s steel production fell by more than 10 per cent from a year earlier in August as the industry reeled from low prices and a damaging slump in demand.<\/p>\n
Last month was a particularly brutal period for the world\u2019s biggest steel sector, with top supplier China Baowu Steel Group Corp. warning of increasingly bleak conditions. As mills fought deepening losses on every ton of steel they made, more of them chose to shut down furnaces.<\/p>\n
Production of crude steel was down 10.4 per cent from a year earlier to 77.9 million tonnes, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. That\u2019s the weakest August for any year since 2017, and deepens this year\u2019s overall decline. Total volumes for the first 8 months of the year were 3.3 per cent lower at 691.4 million tons.<\/p>\n
China\u2019s steel demand is falling after more than two decades of growth powered by the nation\u2019s rapid industrialization and urbanization. This year, and especially this summer, a continued slump in construction activity has worsened the situation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Still, there have been modest signs of a pick-up so far in September, with some steel prices flicking higher and iron ore futures recovering from a slump below $90 a tonne to post a weekly gain.<\/p>\n
China\u2019s struggling economy \u2014 from a battered property market to weak consumer confidence \u2014 is also weighing on oil demand, as highlighted repeatedly at a major industry gathering in Singapore in recent days.<\/p>\n
Crude throughput, a gauge to show productivity in the world\u2019s biggest oil refining market, fell 6.2 per cent year-on-year to 59.07 million tonnes in August.<\/p>\n
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com<\/a><\/p>\n