LONDON: Global crude steel output edged up 0.1 percent year on year in November, boosted by the Americas where demand is on the rise, while output in top steel producer China dipped, but not enough to support weak world steel prices, industry data showed.
Crude steel output hit 131 million tonnes in November, boosted by a 2.4 and 2.7 percent rise in North and South America, respectively, World Steel Association data showed on Friday.
Output in China, which accounts for nearly half of global production, dipped 0.2 percent to 63.3 million tonnes as growth in its economy slows and Beijing attempts to cut overcapacity in the steel sector.
Global steel prices have fallen 9 percent this year to their lowest level in five years, crippled by overcapacity, which is estimated at about 500 million tonnes globally and at about 200 million tonnes in China.
China's steel consumption fell this year for the first time since at least 2000, prompting steelmakers to increase exports. Industry body CISA expects exports to likely exceed 80 million tonnes this year.
The pressure on global steelmakers' margins is being mitigated, however, by a near 50 percent collapse this year in prices for steelmaking ingredient iron ore, which has outpaced the drop in steel prices.
The World Steel Association said the global capacity utilisation ratio for steel-mills was 73.5 percent in November, 2.5 percentage points lower than a year earlier and indicating a loss of pricing power.
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