Chinese Steel Companies Continue Facing Sluggish Demand as New Construction Falls

What’s new: China’s steel output grew a mere 1.3% in the first half with most of the growth achieved in the first three months, showing a sluggish demand amid an ailing property sector.

China produced 535.6 million tons of crude steel in the first six months, data published Monday by the National Bureau of Statistics showed. Output increased 5.6% year-on-year in the first two months and 6.9% in March before declining 1.5% in April and 7.3% in May. Steel plants slightly increased production by 0.4% in June.