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Japan’s steel consumption and domestic sales down in September

Japan’s apparent steel consumption dropped for the first time on a yearly basis in September, after twelve consecutive months of increases.

November 6, 2014
By Generic people page

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Consumption fell by 3% year-on-year in September to 5.87 million tonnes, according to data released by the Japan Iron & Steel Federation (JISF) on Thursday November 6.

The federation calculates consumption by adding the country’s production to its import figures and subtracting exports, all on a crude steel basis.

The country’s domestic steel shipments totalled 4.14 million tonnes over the month, down by a marginal 0.2% on the year, JISF data shows.

Meanwhile, total shipments of steel products rose by 3.8% year-on-year in September, to 6.59 million tonnes, driven by a boost in steel exports.

Japanese ordinary steel product exports reached 2.46 million tonnes in September, up 11.2% on an annual basis, according to JISF figures.