Another solid month of China’s crude steel output which dipped a touch from May’s record.
That was despite the impact of tightened anti-pollution production curbs in the major northern steel-producing cities in Hebei.
The world’s biggest steel producer churned out 87.53 million tonnes of crude steel in June, the second highest on record.
That was down from a record 89.09 million tonnes in May – the first monthly drop this year – but still well above 80.2 million tonnes in June of last year.
Reuters reported that June’s fall came as the smog-prone northern province of Hebei, which accounts for a quarter of China’s total steel output, ordered local governments to bring forward capacity cuts and anti-pollution measures to meet annual air quality targets.
Meanwhile, China’s coal output in June hit a record high as miners boosted output to meet state demand to produce enough coal to handle an expected surge in electricity demand this northern summer.
China’s National Statistics Bureau reported yesterday that the country produced 333.35 million tonnes of coal in June, up 6.7% from May and up 10.4% year-on-year.
Output over the first half of 2019 reached 1.76 billion tonnes, up 2.6% from the same period last year.
China’s state planners and energy administration have asked miners, especially major producing provinces, in Shanxi, Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia, to step up production of high-quality coal (low sulphur thermal coal) to meet increasing demand this summer – with surging sales and use of air conditioners to major factor (as they are now in Australia).
The statistics bureau also reported that China generated 583.4 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of power in June, up 2.8% year-on-year, the data showed, with coal-fired power generation rising 0.1% from a year ago after two months of year-on-year declines.
First-half crude oil output rose 0.8% from a year ago to 95.39 million tonnes. Reuters said the weak growth highlights the geological challenges of mature fields and the lack of new discoveries that state oil majors face in trying to boost domestic oil output.
Natural gas production in June rose 13.1% from a year earlier to 13.9 billion cubic meters. Output for the first half increased 10.3% from a year earlier to 86.4 billion cubic metres.
“The much faster growth in gas production, which exceeds analysts forecast of 6% to 8%, was spurred by state oil majors’ efforts in focusing spending increases on the production of the cleaner-burning fuel,” Reuters reported yesterday.
