China’s pig iron production rose 0.7% on the year to 72.58 million mt in April, while the crude steel output was unchanged from a year ago at 86.02 million mt, data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics showed.

The daily pig iron and crude steel outputs averaged 2.419 million mt and 2.867 million mt, respectively, in April, down 0.4% and 4.3%, against the March averages.

Over January-April, China’s pig iron and crude steel output increased 0.8% and 0.4%, respectively, on the year to 288.85 million mt and 345.35 million mt, the NBS data showed.

Several participants said the pig iron and crude steel production in April could be underreported, as most mills had intended to boost their output to full capacity in April amid robust exports and a surge in outflows of steel-intensive manufactured goods.

China has been planning to reduce its annual crude steel output for 2025, with some mill sources having either received or heard of annual output cut targets of about 5%.

However, how much of China’s crude steel output will be reduced in 2025 still depends on the demand side, sources said.

“Despite that the US has temporarily reduced the reciprocal tariffs on China, I think the trade tension with the US may start to weaken manufactured goods exports in the second half of 2025, weighing on China’s GDP growth as well as the steel consumption,” said a market participant.

“Steel production is expected to trend lower in H2 2025 from the first half, but the decline in demand could be faster, as the property sector has continued downward and cannot offset the headwinds from the export market,” said a trading source.