Annual global steel output off 1.9pc in June

PARIS: Led by slumps in Europe and Latin America, world crude steel production fell by 1.9 per cent in the first six months of 2016 compared with the same period a year earlier, the World Steel Association (WSA) said on Wednesday.

Overall production dipped to 794.8 million tonnes, the group said, pointing to a 6.1 per cent slide among EU producers and a 13.8 per cent slump in South America.

North America, which like Europe has voiced vocal criticism of Chinese dumping, limited its own Janary-June fall to 0.6 per cent, while Asia was off 1.0 per cent.

Overall production across June itself was stable at 136 million tonnes, WSA said, citing figures from the 66 countries that report to it.

China, by far the world’s number one steel-maker with more than half global production and also top consumer, alone churned out 69.5 million tonnes for a 1.7 per cent rise on June 2015.

That figure will only fuel concerns about soaring Chinese imports raised last week by EU Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker, who insisted the bloc would use all possible means to protect its own producers.

China, which makes more than half the world’s steel, is widely accused in Europe of dumping its production on world markets and violating trade agreements at the expense of local jobs. Juncker said on a visit to Beijing last week that there was a “clear link” between China cutting overcapacity and the EU granting it “market economy status” — a prize Beijing eagerly seeks. — AFP