Chinese output of hot metal, crude steel and finished steel all fell on a month-on-month basis in July amid weakening demand and steelmaking restrictions in the country's production hub in northern China.
Demand in China's domestic market weakened last month amid bad weather - heavy rain in some regions and sweltering heat in most of the country - which was a major contributing factor for July's lower steel production in comparison with that in June. For instance, the newly construction starts totaled 1.26 billion square meters in the January-July period, up 9.5% from the corresponding months of last year. But this year-on-year growth...