OREANDA-NEWS  By the end of April 2024, the total volume of steel production in Russia decreased by 5.7 percent compared to the same period in 2023 and dropped to 6.2 million tons. This is reported by TASS with reference to statistics from the World Steel Association (WSA).

In the first four months of this year, the indicator decreased by 2.5 percent compared to January-April 2023 and amounted to 24.6 million tons. Analysts recorded a decline not only in Russia, but also in China, where steel output decreased by 7.2 percent to 85.9 million tons by the end of April. In turn, in the USA and Japan, the indicator fell by 2.8 and 2.5 percent to 6.7 and 7.1 million tons, respectively.

Experts have recorded a decline in all key global regions. Thus, in the CIS countries, steel output in April decreased by 3.5 percent (to 7.4 million tons), in Asia and Oceania — by 5.8 percent (to 114.8 million), in North America — by 5.2 percent (to 8.9 million), in South America — by 3.9 percent (to 3.4 million), and in the Middle East — by 8.2 percent (up to 4.6 million). The only exception was the European Union (EU), where steel output increased by 1.1 percent and reached a level of 11.3 million tons, the WSA report says.

Earlier, the Vedomosti newspaper, citing preliminary data from the information and analytical company Chermet Corporation, reported an even greater decline in steel production in Russia. Analysts said that the total production of the metal, which is important for the Russian economy, decreased by 7.5 percent to 6.1 million tons in the second month of spring. Experts have linked such dynamics with the high level of the Central Bank's (CB) key rate.