Global steel output dips 22 pc in Feb; up 2.8 pc in India

Hit by slackening demand, the global steel output declined by 22 per cent to 84 million tonnes in February even as it grew by 2.8 per cent in India on improved requirement from automobile and construction sectors.

While most steel-producing countries, except China and Iran registered a two-digit decrease in their steel output, in India the production increased by 2.8 per cent to 4.74 million tonnes from 4.61 million tonnes an year-ago. Both January and February have been good for the steel sector as production and consumption increased. This is a good sign for the sector and the economy. With offtakes improving the Indian steel mills which had slashed production in the third quarter, have revived their capacities to the maximum level. During April-February period, India produced 51.5 million tonnes of steel, registering a jump of 1.3 per cent over the year-ago period. China too saw its crude steel output increase by 4.9 per cent to 40.4 million tonnes in February 2009. Iran reported a maximum 15.9 per cent surge in crude steel production at 0.9 million tonnes. crackcrack