Helped by six per cent rise in production in China, global steel output increased by 1.2 per cent to 126 million tonnes (MT) in the last month. The world’s steel production in October last year stood at 124.55 MT, the data by World Steel Association showed.
China, as usual, was the biggest producer of steel during the month at 59.1 MT, up by six per cent compared to October 2011.
India’s production grew by 5.7 per cent to 6.5 MT from 6.1 MT a year ago. Japan produced 8.8 MT, a dip of 6.7 per cent.
In the EU, Germany produced 3.7 MT, a slight increase of 0.3 per cent over October 2011. Italy’s production was 2.4 MT, down by 10.4 per cent. France produced 1.3 MT, and Spain production was 1.1 MT.
The US produced 6.9 MT steel in October 2012, a 3.3 per cent dip against the same month last year. Brazil’s production was 3.2 MT, an increase of 7.7 per cent against October 2011.
“The crude steel capacity utilisation ratio in October 2012 declined to 76.5 per cent from 77.7 per cent in September,” WSA said.