According to data from the World Steel Federation, on Wednesday, global steel production declined by 3.3 percent in January, under pressure from the continued slowdown in the global economy.
The federation added in its monthly report that the total global steel production – 64 countries – amounted to 145.3 million tons last month.
China topped the producing countries with about 79.5 million tons, up 2.3 percent year-on-year.
India ranked second in terms of production volume, with a volume of 10.9 million tons, a slight decrease of 0.2 percent, while Japan ranked third, with a production volume of 7.2 million tons, a decrease of 6.9 percent.
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The United States ranked fourth with a volume of 6.5 million tons, down by 6.8 percent, and Russia ranked fifth, with a production volume of 5.8 million tons, down by 8.9 percent.
In sixth place was South Korea, producing 5.5 million tons, followed by Germany with 2.9 million tons, then Turkey with 2.8 million tons.
As for the ninth and tenth places, they were occupied by Brazil and Iran, with production of 2.7 and 2.6 million tons, respectively.
And last month, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Kristina Georgieva, said that the growth of the global economy is still weak, but it may be witnessing a turning point at the present time.
Georgieva added, “Negative developments remain the outweigher in the balance of risks. It is possible that the recovery process in China will be stalled. Inflation may remain above expectations, which will require further monetary tightening.”
The World Steel Federation is one of the largest and most dynamic industry associations in the world. Its members produce nearly 85 percent of the world’s steel production.