Global steel output rises in July

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA

Global crude steel production rose 5.8 percent year-on-year to reach 154.6 million tons in July, the World Steel Association revealed on Monday.

The association said in a statement that the crude steel capacity utilization ratio of the 64 countries in July was 77.5 percent -- an annual increase of 3.3 percentage point -- while the ratio was 1.4 percentage points lower than June.

China remained the world's number one crude steel producer with more than 81.2 million tons, up 7.2 percent compared to the same period last year.

Turkey’s crude steel production amounted to some 3.3 million tons in July, indicating a decrease of 2.3 percent.

It stated that the crude steel production of the U.S. was 7.3 million tons with a 4.5 percent yearly hike.

In the first seven months of the year, global crude steel production reached 1 billion, rising 5 percent compared to the same period last year.

Crude steel output in Turkey was also up 2.8 percent year-on-year during the same period and reached nearly 22.2 million tons.

The World Steel Association is a prominent industry organization, as its members represent around 85 percent of the global steel production with more than 160 steel producers, and releases monthly crude steel production figures for the 64 countries reporting to the association.