China’s crude steel production rose more than 18 per cent in June to a record monthly level of 36.62 million tonnes, industry information provider Mysteel said, citing official figures.

Crude steel production for the first half of the year also rose by more than 18 per cent, to 199.47 million tonnes, Mysteel said.
The first-half figures imply that Chinese steel production would be about 400 million tonnes for the full year, an increase of about 15 per cent compared with 2005.
But if output continues at June’s heated pace, full-year production could reach some 420 million tonnes, depressing prices at home and perhaps leading to a flood of exports that could trigger trade disputes with rival countries and hit the earnings of producers elsewhere, said a Reuters report.
The steel production glut in China, boosted by the industry’s rapid expansion over the past few years, drove the country’s steel product exports to an all-time high of 4.43 million tonnes in June.
Steel product output increased by 32 per cent on the year to 41.2 million tonnes last month, while first-half output rose 26 per cent to 221.95 million tonnes, Mysteel said.
Pig iron production rose 21.77 per cent from a year earlier to 35.05 million tonnes in June, lifting first-half production by 21 per cent to 193.2 million tonnes.