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Crude steel production for the 65 countries reporting to Worldsteel was 137 million tonnes in October, the same as in the corresponding month in 2013.
Crude steel output in China was 67.5 million tonnes in October, a slight decline of 0.3% compared with the same period in 2013.
Total crude steel output in Asia was up by 0.6%, mainly as a result of the 8.5% growth recorded in India. South Korea and Taiwan also contributed with crude steel production increasing by 4.5% and 4.8% respectively, while production in Japan dropped by 1.7%.
In the European Union, crude steel production grew by 1.5% year-on-year to 14.9 million tonnes.
Among the biggest European producers, France was the only country that showed a positive figure, with a 15% increase year-on-year. Crude steel production dropped by 5.9% in Germany, by 5.4% in Italy and by 0.4% in Spain. The UK was by and large stable, showing a minor 0.3% increase.
Outside the European Union, Ukraine produced about 750,000 tonnes of crude steel less than in the same period in 2013, which represented a fall of 28.7% year-on-year. This was mainly due to the logistical and supply problems created by the military conflict in the eastern part of the country.
Unlike in September, Russia did not compensate for the missing Ukrainian output in October, increasing its crude steel production by just 1.6% year-on-year.
In the Americas, the USA produced 7.3 million tonnes of crude steel, a decline of 0.7% compared with September 2013, while production in Brazil increased by 2.7% year-on-year to 3 million tonnes.
Worldsteel’s estimated global utilisation rate was 74.7%, 2.6% lower than in the corresponding period last year.