China’s crude steel production to hit record high in 2018

China’s crude steel output in 2018 is expected to set an annual record of 923 million tons befosre slipping back to 900 million tons next year, a government consultancy said on Monday.

Output in the world’s top steel producer jumped this year from 831.73 million tons in 2017, with major mills boosting production to fill a gap after Beijing shut down low-grade steel capacity that had not previously been included in official data, said Li Xinchuang, president at the China Metallurgical Industry Planning and Research Institute.

“Steel output is moved by the general economic situation and demand in both domestic and global markets,” Li said at a briefing.

China’s ongoing anti-pollution campaign and uncertainty stemming from China-US trade friction would also affect the steel market, according to Li.

The consultancy also predicted that steel consumption in China would fall to 800 million tons in 2019 from 820 million tons this year, dragged down by waning demand in the property, automobile and energy sectors.

China is expected to consume 1.206 billion tons of iron ore this year, up 1.6 percent from a year earlier, the institute said in a report.

Use of the key steelmaking ingredient will drop to around 1.147 billion tons next year alongside declining steel output, it said.

The government research body also predicts China will export a net 55 million tons of steel products in 2019, down slightly from 56.2 million tons this year.