Record steel output

Boosted by the government's economic stimulus package, both crude steel output and consumption in China are expected to hit a record high in 2009, said Qi Xiangdong, deputy secretary-general of the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA), at a recent forum in Shanghai.

The CISA estimated both the country's production volume and apparent consumption of crude steel would exceed 565 million tons this year, while the actual consumption might total more than 500 million tons.

Daily crude steel output topped 1.66 million tons in October, up 42.4 percent year on year, which means annual production may reach 600 million tons a year at this rate, Qi said.