Japan: Crude steel output drops 8%, y-o-y, in August

Japan's crude steel output stood at around 7.3 million tonnes (mnt) in August 2022, down 8% as against 7.9 mnt in the same period last year. The fall in production is due to sluggish demand in Japan and the overseas markets. However, m-o-m production volumes remained largely stable.

Daily crude steel production increased slightly to 237,000 tonnes (t) from July 2022.

In August, the production breakdown of converter steel and electric furnace steel stood at 5.58 mnt (down 8.6% y-o-y) and 1.76 mnt (down 3.5% y-o-y), respectively.

Blast furnace steel producers have kept production subdued amid slow recovery in demand. Meanwhile, converter steel prices witnessed a downtrend for the eighth consecutive month. Moreover, electric arc furnace steel producers lowered their production for the first time in last four months.

Ordinary steel production stood at 5.61 mnt, down 7.1% y-o-y. Special steel production, too, dropped 8.4% y-o-y to 1.73 mnt in August. Notably, ordinary steel production decreased for eight consecutive months, while special steel production decreased for seven months in a row.

During the first eight months of the current calendar year (January-August), Japan's crude steel production stood at 60.7 mnt, down 5% as against 63.9 mnt a year ago.

Market participants said that because the recovery in demand is slow, it is highly likely that steel production in 2022 will fall below the previous year's level of 96.1 mnt.

Note: This article has been written in accordance with an article exchange agreement between Japan Metal Daily and SteelMint.