China's crude steel production in April fell short of expectations. Will this year's output exceed last year's?

Golden Ten Futures, May 17, according to foreign media reports, China's National Bureau of Statistics released data showing that China's crude steel production in April was 85.94 million tons, down 2.6% month-on-month and 7.2% year-on-year, less than expected. Many market participants predict a month-on-month increase, as improving downstream demand and higher profits encourage steel producers to increase production. China's crude steel production averaged 2.86 million tons per day in April, 2.85 million tons in March and 3.09 million tons in April 2023. Some analysts said that April was one day less than March, which may explain the decline in monthly production. From January to April 2024, China's crude steel production was 343.67 million tons, down 3% year-on-year. Analysts said production < b > is likely to increase in May as more mills resume production due to strong demand and an improving outlook for consumption. One analyst said, "Given that total production has fallen significantly in the first four months, production < b > is not expected to be higher this year than in 2023, even without the government's nationwide production curbs. "