Crude steel production among the 70 countries and regions checked by the World Steel Association (WSA) totaled 931.5 million tonnes over the first half of this year, edging down by a small 0.7% from the same period last year, according to the association's latest release published on July 23.

The on-year decline in cumulative output over the six months was half the 1.5% decrease recorded for January-May, thanks to a lift in output last month to 155.7 million tonnes, higher by 1.7% from June last year, according to the WSA release.

China, the world's largest steelmaker, produced 83.7 million tonnes of crude steel in June, edging up marginally by 0.4% on year. Nevertheless, the country's cumulative output for H1 dropped by 3% on year to 500 million tonnes, the WSA survey result showed. However, the decline over the six months narrowed slightly from the 3.9% slip in the first five months.

The WSA figure for China was identical to that announced earlier by China's National Bureau of Statistics of 500 million tonnes with a 3% on-year slide, as Mysteel Global reported.

Meanwhile, crude steel output in India, the world's second-largest steelmaking country, continued to grow strongly in June, rising by 4.5% on year to top 14.1 million tonnes, the WSA release indicated. This also lifted the country's H1 production by a larger 7.1% on year to 87 million tonnes.

The United States also posted further gains in output, with its crude steel production in June mounting by 3.5% on year to 7.2 million tonnes. This took cumulative output over the first half of the year to 42.8 million tonnes, higher by 6.3% from January-June last year, according to the WSA.

Other major steel-producing countries, including South Korea, Türkiye, Germany, and Vietnam, also recorded on-year output gains in H1, Mysteel Global noted.