China steel consumption will remain stable in the second half of the year

In the first half of the year, China steel output was 536 million tons, an increase of 6.88 million tons or 1.3 percent year-on-year, and 43.58 million tons of steel was exported, an increase of 10.39 million tons year-on-year. The steel industry has made an important contribution to the economic recovery of our country.

In the first half of the year, steel production and consumption increased by 1.3 percent year on year. NET exports of converted steel were 41.99 million tons, up by 16.63 million tons. Apparent consumption of converted steel was 49,400 tons, a decrease of 9.75 million tons, or 1.9 percent, year-on-year. At the same time, the production structure of steel products is gradually optimized, the proportion of steel used in construction industry is decreasing, and the proportion of steel used in manufacturing industry is increasing.

From the construction industry, one is that despite a 7.9% year-on-year decline in real estate investment, housing construction area fell 24.3% , but in the policy, housing completed area growth of 19.0% year-on-year. Meanwhile, investment in infrastructure increased 7.2 percent and investment in manufacturing increased 6.0 percent year-on-year, effectively support the steel bar, wire rod (wire rod) , railway steel, large-scale steel, welded pipe and other construction steel demand and production.

In the manufacturing sector, ships, automobiles (28.6 percent of which are new energy vehicles) , the three major household appliances, and steel for wind power and solar power continue to grow, effective support of the thick steel plate, thick steel strip, electrical steel (strip) , plating plate (strip) , coating plate (strip) and other manufacturing steel varieties of growth.

In the second half of the year, it is expected that the decline in the real estate sector will gradually stabilize and demand will achieve a new balance after the reduction in the volume of real estate; infrastructure construction will continue to put forth efforts; the use of new energy steel will grow rapidly; and the manufacturing sector will develop soundly. Overall, with a series of steady growth and stimulate economic vitality of the country's policy cumulative effect of the show, downstream steel consumption will remain stable, or slightly down.