OREANDA-NEWS. March 23, 2012. Following a decline in January, the world crude steel production grew 1.9% in February 2012 when compared to the same month in 2011. The steelmakers from the 59 countries included in the survey produced 119 million tonnes in February. This survey by the World Steel Association covers 97% of the world’s steel producers.

China answered for 47% of the world steel output last month, with 55.9 million tonnes, up 3.3% from last year’s equivalent month. This growth rate is higher than the world average growth. Japan, the second biggest producers in the world, reduced its production by 3.7% to 8.6 million tonnes of crude steel last month. The USA crude steel production jumped 8.5% to 7.3 million tonnes in the period.