Daily Steel Output Hits New Record

The domestic steel output in late February rose by 5.5 percent to 1.91 million tons per day. The main reason behind the output increase lied with a continuously upward movement taking place during the period from late last year to mid-February, which has led to a turnaround in mills' profit margin.

The supply of rebar and wire rod is increasing more rapidly than that of flat-rolled products. Some small- and medium-sized mills begin lowering their ex-works prices in the absence of any tangible recovery in end-user demand. Larger mills have joined the move by providing distributors with incentives such as maintaining the prices at a certain level and giving them subsidies.