The Chilean steel production index fell 8.5% in April compared with the same month a year ago and was 5.5% lower than March, the country's National Institute of Statistics said Friday.
INE measures steel production through an index that includes operating blast furnaces, converters and rolling mills, as well as production of pig iron, ingots, ferroalloys and finished steel products such as angles, sections and bars.
The institute does not publicly quantify actual production volumes, only percentage changes.
According to the World Steel Association, Chile's steel output increased 14.1% to 105,000 mt in April from 92,000 mt in the same month a year ago, and was down 3.7% from 109,000 mt in March.
Chile's steel production index is part of INE's manufacturing index, which decreased 7.5% year on year in April and plunged 16.4% from March.
The manufacturing index is one of three components of the country's overall industrial production index, which dipped 4.2% year on year and increased 1.1% month on month in April.
INE's report also noted a 6% drop in iron ore production last month in a year-on-year comparison, and a 1.3% decrease month on month.
