Monthly Industry Briefings > Monthly Industry Forecasts > Basic Metals

The latest data show that Chinese crude steel production declined by 4.8% year-on-year in January, the steepest annual decline since late 2008. On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, production fell a sharp 7.8% in the same month. The recent abolition of steel rebates may have resulted in an even steeper decline in January than otherwise and the timing of the Chinese New Year always means that little can be read into Chinese January data. Elsewhere, steel production in several Western European countries rebounded strongly on a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, with France, Italy and the UK all registering double-digit increases. Production in Germany, Spain and Sweden also increased the same month while Belgian and Dutch production declined. Meanwhile production in both the US and Japan contracted, by 1.3% and 1.2%, respectively.