Crude steel output in China, the world's largest producer, is forecast to rise 10 percent to a record 540 million tonnes in 2008, a senior official of China Iron and Steel Association said on Saturday.
China's steel production is rising steadily in response to robust domestic demand, fuelled by an expected 11 percent growth in the country's gross domestic product, said Luo Bingsheng, the association's vice president. "Demand from domestic market will stay strong, even though decreasing exports and rising production cost, such as higher prices of coke and fuel, will dampen growth," Luo told a conference held by online consultancy Mysteel.
He said demand for crude still was expected to grow by around 12 percent next year. The association's 2008 estimate, which was revised up from an earlier forecast of 530 million tonnes, represents a rise of around 50 million tonnes, implying a revised forecast output of 490 million tonnes of crude steel this year.
The 2007 forecast is in line with most analysts' estimates, as Beijing's efforts to cap investment and push smaller mills out of business have borne little fruit. China's pig iron production will increase about 10 percent to 510 million tonnes in 2008 from 2007, Luo said. Chinese crude steel output for the first 10 months of the year was up 18 percent at 409 million tonnes, while October's 42.92 million tonnes represented a rise of 13.5 percent on year.
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