China’s crude steel production falls for first time in 34 years

China’s crude steel output fell last year for the first time since 1981, official figures and reports said on Tuesday, amid a wider slowdown in the country’s economy and European accusations of dumping.

Crude steel production declined 2.3 per cent year-on-year to 803.8 million tonnes in 2015, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said. The official Xinhua news agency described it as the first drop since 1981. China accounts for half the world’s crude steel production, according to data from the World Steel Association. But the sector has been plagued by overcapacity in both China and the rest of the world for years, and global prices have plummeted in the face of oversupply. 

They have also been hit by concerns over China’s slowing growth, which the NBS said reached 6.9 per cent in 2015, its slowest for 25 years.