China's crude steel output drops in July

BEIJING, August 22: China's crude steel production declined last month, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

In July, the country's crude steel output was 86.79 million tonnes, down 8.4 percent year on year, the data shows.

In the first seven months of the year, the crude steel output expanded 8 percent year on year to 648.33 million tonnes.

China produced 111 million tonnes of rolled steel in July, down 6.6 percent year on year.

In the January-July period, the rolled steel output came in at 809.02 million tonnes, up 10.5 percent from a year ago, according to the NBS.

In recent years, China has taken solid steps to cut overcapacity, particularly in the energy-consuming steel sector.

During the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), China met the target of reducing its steel output by 150 million tonnes ahead of schedule.