Reuters quoted data from the China Iron & Steel Association showed that China produced an average 1.65 million tonnes of steel per day in the middle of July, 2.4% lower than the first 10 days of the month.

 
Te daily averaged output of crude steel in the first half stood at about 1.79 million tonnes in China up by 14.5% from last year averaged 1.56 million tonnes or equivalent to a total of 650 million tonnes for the whole year. 

 
But in July the daily average decreased to 1.69 million tonnes corresponding to 620 million tonnes for the whole year.

 
In the first half, the production of crude steel posted around 323.17 million tonnes increasing 56.28 million tonnes or 21.09%YoY that of pig iron, 303.79 million tonnes up 44.10 million tonnes or 16.98%YoY and that of steel products, 398.68 million tonnes up by 26.08%YoY.

 
In the data seen by Reuters, CISA said output from China major steel producers, thought to include the country 61 biggest mills fell by 3%t to 1.34 million tonnes in the middle 10 days of July, the second straight fall this month. The latest output rate translates into 602 million tonnes on an annualized basis, still 6% higher than last year record.

 
With demand still uncertain and prices dropping, a number of small- and medium-sized mills have already slashed output and even closed down some of their facilities as stockpiles soar. But the market has been looking closely at production volumes from China's biggest steel enterprises to see whether they will follow suit.

 
Mr Xu Zhongbu chief executive of Beijing Metal Consulting said "Big steel mills won't have plans to cut production, but some have scheduled overhauls for the summer."

 
He said that it was difficult to draw conclusions from the output figures for less than one month, and suggested the industry was still failing to recognize the true extent of its problems, especially after a brief price recovery last week.

 
He added that "Last week's price increases will not be a good thing for the steel market and might have persuaded some mills to abandon their plans to cut output."