China’s steel production up 13% amid infrastructure surge

China s steel mills produced 12.9% more in the first two months of this year compared with the same period last year in expectation of strong demand from construction and manufacturing, Reuters reports, citing statistics published today by the country s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Average daily output reached 2.97 million tonnes, up from 2.94 million tonnes in December 2020 and also up from the 2.58 million tonnes average daily output recorded in January and February 2020. The uptick comes as investment in Chinese infrastructure and real estate surged 36.6% and 38.3% in the first two months of this year, respectively, according to the NBS. Investment in the country s manufacturing sector also rose by 37.3% in January-February from the same months in 2020. Reuters cited consultancy Mysteel, which calculated that production capacity of 163 major blast furnaces stood at above 82% in the period. The surge comes after the Chinese government pledged to cut steel output to reduce carbon emissions, of which steel production accounts for 15% of the country s total emissions.