Iran consumed 6.69 million mt of finished products during the first four months of the current Iranian year (to July 22), up 14% year on year and 347,000 mt more than was produced in the period, the Iranian Steel Producers' Association said.
Some 6.34 million mt of finished steel products were produced by Iranian steel producers and re-rollers in the four-month period, a 10% increase year on year.
Some 2.67 million mt of hot-rolled coil was consumed in the period, up 13% year on year, plus 1 million mt of cold-rolled coil, up 47%, and 1.89 million mt of rebar, down 5%.
Exports of finished steel products decreased to 414,000 mt in the same period last year, in order to meet rising domestic demand, the ISPA said.
Crude steel production rose 17% to 7.06 million mt in the four months.
However, 4.93 million mt of crude steel was consumed locally and 2.14 million mt exported, with the latter being a 67% rise. Output for the period also included 3.77 million mt of billet and 3.29 million mt of steel slab.
The rise marks the fourth monthly rise in Iran's apparent consumption according to ISPA's monthly reports, with the largest increase seen in downstream industries, including automotive.
The country's rebar re-rollers say that they are still worried about securing supplies of billet, plus the rising billet price, an industry source in Tehran said.
