China's record daily steel output in April bodes ill for world rivals

Beijing

CHINA's record daily output in April bodes ill for an embattled global steel industry already reeling from a deluge of exports from the world's top producer.

Crude steel output over the month rose 0.5 per cent to 69.42 million metric tonnes from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Saturday. The gains came after mills ramped up production to take advantage of a spurt higher in prices that has given them the best profits this decade. While below March's record monthly figure of 70.65 million tonnes, the daily rate of 2.314 million tonnes was higher due to fewer producing days and surpassed the previous best set in June 2014.

"Given how high margins went, we've been expecting to see a supply response like this," Ian Roper, Singapore-based analyst at Macquarie Group Ltd, said. "Chinese mills will likely look back to the export…