BEIJING (Reuters) -
China's crude steel output in the first two months of 2023 rose 5.6% from a
year earlier, official data showed on Wednesday, as many domestic steel mills
ramped up production in February in anticipation of a pick-up in demand in
March.
The world's top
steelmaking country produced 168.7 million tonnes of the metal in January and
February, according to data from the country's National Bureau of Statistics
(NBS).
China releases
combined data for January and February to account for distortion created by the
irregular timing of the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, which this year began
on Jan. 21.
Average daily
output stood at 2.86 million tonnes, a rise of 13.8% from the daily average in
December 2022 and 6.8% higher than the daily average of 2.68 million tonnes in
the corresponding period in 2022, according to Reuters calculations based on
the NBS data.
The blast furnace
capacity utilisation rate was 80.98% as of Feb. 24, marking a rise of 5.77
percentage points from 75.21% in late December 2022, data from consultancy
Mysteel showed.
China has rolled
out a raft of stimulus policies, particularly in the property market, as part
of efforts to support its economy which had been constrained by the strict
measures to contain the COVID-19 in the majority of 2022.
Crude steel output
from China rose 2.3% to 79.5 million tonnes in January, data from World Steel
Association showed earlier in February.
Iron ore imports
also rose in the period, reaching 194 million tonnes during January and
February, a year-on-year rise of 7.3%, and the highest ever for the two months
combined, data showed earlier this month.
Analysts estimated
daily average output to increase further in March as China has entered its peak
construction season, generating strong demand for steel.
Beijing has not
made it clear whether it will stick to its policy of zero growth in annual
crude steel production this year, but analysts expect annual output in 2023 to
either remain flat or increase slightly