NBS: Jan-May steel output at key Chinese steel hubs declines YoY

Crude steel production among China's top ten steelmaking provinces and autonomous regions over January-May totalled 312.82 million tonnes, lower by 1.8% from the same period last year, with nine of the ten centres presenting on-year decreases in output, according to the latest data released by the country's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Similarly, crude steel output among these ten regions all showed on-year declines in May, leading to a 7.5% loss in the accumulated volume to 62.47 million tonnes, the NBS data showed. That these ten major steelmaking regions slowed their pace of production probably shouldn't surprise, considering that May is typically a slow season for steel consumption in China.