China pushes global steel production in October

According to a report by the World Steel Association (WSA), global steel production rose in October amid strong production growth in China, the world's largest steel producer. Higher production volumes also supported smelting growth in India, the United States and Europe. Steel production in 66 countries increased by 5.9% on an annualized basis for the reporting month to 145.3 million tons.

China's steel output, which accounts for about half of global production, rose 6.1% year-on-year to 72.4 million tonnes in October as the country's steel mills continued to take advantage of steel prices, resulting in higher profits for the industry ...

However, steel production in China is expected to decline as Beijing began implementing a four-month production cut to optimize its growing steel sector and control pollution in the winter months until mid-March 2018. Hebei province - China's largest steel producing region - wants to shut down 50% of its steel capacity in winter to clean up the environment.

Overall, China is expected to cut its steel production capacity by about 50 million tonnes in 2017. The country's actions to reduce the oversupply of steel in the winter are expected to support global steel prices. In addition, global steel production is also expected to increase in the coming months.

China's finished steel exports also fell about 35% year on year to 4.98 million tonnes in October. The country's steel product exports also declined by about 30% in the first ten months of 2017.