China's total crude steel output during the first half of this year registered 499.95 million tonnes, marking a 3% fall compared with the same period last year, according to the latest release from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Wednesday morning.
The decline narrowed from the drop of 3.9% recorded during the January-May period, as national crude steel production in June showed a slight recovery, up 0.4% on year to reach 83.67 million tonnes, the NBS statistics showed.
On a daily basis, the country's crude steel output averaged 2.79 million tonnes/day in June, rising by 2.5% from the average for May, Mysteel Global calculated based on NBS data.
China produced 126.56 million tonnes of finished steel last month, the same level as June 2025, while the cumulative production for the first six months of this year reached 718.78 million tonnes, still lower by 0.9% on year, according to the NBS statistics.
The results suggested that most Chinese steel mills maintained normal production in the past month, although demand from end-users weakened further during the typical off-season for steel consumption in China as high temperatures and frequent rainfall across most regions of the country disrupted outdoor construction activity.
Spot transactions for finished steel slowed continuously in June. For example, the daily trading volume of rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil among the 237 trading houses nationwide monitored by Mysteel averaged 91,555 tonnes/day, slipping by 6,282 t/d or 6.4% on month.
China's steel prices also lost ground amid the summer lull. The national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar was assessed by Mysteel at Yuan 3,300/tonne ($487/t) including the 13% VAT as of June 30, falling by Yuan 123/t from one month ago, while the assessed national average for Q235 4.75mm HRC also declined by Yuan 85/t on month to Yuan 3,340/t including the 13% VAT.
Persistent weakness in domestic steel prices eroded the profitability of Chinese steelmakers. By the end of June, only around 51% of the 247 blast-furnace (BF) steel mills in China reported that they could make a profit on finished steel sales, down from more than 62% in late May, according to Mysteel's survey.
Source:Mysteel Global
