STEEL NEWS

China record in annual steel production of 1.054 billion tonnes

In 2020, China's steel production rose 5.2% to 1.054 billion tonnes in response to the rapid recovery in construction and manufacturing demand following the Covid-19 lockdown, Xinhua reported.

According to data published on January 18 by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), steel production increased by 0.75% to 2.94 million tonnes per day in December from 2.92 million tonnes per day in November. December production on a net basis was up 4% from November and 7.7% from a year earlier to 91.25 million tonnes. Finished steel production rose 7.7% to a record 1.325 billion tonnes in 2020. Pig iron production rose 4.3% from a year earlier to 887.52 million tonnes in 2020. Metallurgical coke production in 2020 amounted to 471.16 Mt, which is unchanged from 2019.

China's economy grew 2.3% in 2020, which is expected to make it the only major global economy to see positive growth last year, said Ning Jizhe, head of NBS. The steel industry, which is the mainstay of China's economic growth, performed better than expected, with prices rising for most of the year.