China's steel output seen shrinking this year

Singapore

STEEL production in China will shrink this year as consumption has peaked and more mills in the world's largest maker of the alloy are shut down, according to the China & Iron Steel Association.

Output will contract to an estimated 814 million tonnes in 2015 from 823 tonnes last year, the association's deputy secretary-general Li Xinchuang said at an iron ore conference in Perth, Australia, on Wednesday. The association is funded by China's major steelmakers and is the only nationwide industry body.

Squeezed by a housing slump and industrial overcapacity, China grew at the weakest pace since 1990 last year and is set to slow further in 2015. Peak steel arrives in the country this year, according to Morgan Stanley, which for…