China's crude steel output in April hit a fresh historical high of 72.78 million mt, up 4.9% year on year, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics Monday showed.
The daily crude steel output in April averaged 2.43 million mt, up 4% from the daily average in March and also the highest daily figure ever.
One steel trader based in southwestern China's Chongqing municipality said end-user demand, especially for flat steel, had still been in a lull, so the record-high steel output would weigh on steel prices in May.
Over January-April, China's crude steel output totaled 273.87 million mt, up 4.6% year on year.
Meanwhile, China produced 62.58 million mt of pig iron in April, up 5.4% year on year.
China's pig iron output in the first four months of this year increased 4.2% year on year to 238.21 million mt.
