South Korea's crude steel production fell to the lowest in 18 months in February amid less demand and an inflow of low-priced products from China, industry data showed Wednesday.
According to the data by the World Steel Association, South Korea produced 5.09 million tons of crude steel last month, down 4.4 percent from a year earlier.
This marked the lowest since August 2013 when it churned out 4.89 million tons of crude steel. On a month-to-month basis, the steel production shrank for the second straight month.
The decline is attributable to seasonal factors, such as less demand during winter, making it worse for the already strained steel industry that suffers from the protracted slowing economic recovery.
An inflow of low-priced Chinese products, prompted by a glut in the home market, is also cited as a major reason.
The shrinkage in production is in contrast with other Asian competitors except Japan. In particular, China's steel production expanded 3.4 percent on-year to 65.03 million tons in February, the data showed.
Source: yonhapnews.co.kr
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