According to the latest statistics released by the National Development and Reform Commission, China, the world's largest steel producer, saw its crude steel output increase 9.1% YoY to 191.89 million tonnes in the first quarter of this year.

The commission said that the country's output of steel products rose 12.3% YoY to 245.51 million tonnes in the first three months.

China exported 14.43 million tonnes of steel products in the three-month period, up 18.8% YoY, while its import of steel products hit 3.23 million tonnes, down 5.3% YoY.

In March, China's steel prices slightly decreased, with the domestic composite steel price index decreasing 1.72 points from February to 107.99. The prices of 20-mm steel sheets and 1 mm cold rolled coils were RMB 3,953 per tonne and RMB 4,810 per tonne, up 0.7% and 11.7% MoM or down 10.6% and 7.5% YoY, respectively.

The steel industry realized RMB 22.26 billion in profit in the first two months, 170% less than in the same period of last year. The ferrous metal mining and dressing sector booked a profit of RMB 9.73 billion, down 4.3% YoY, and the steel smelting and processing sector recorded profit of RMB 10.11 billion, compared with a net loss of RMB 2.86 it suffered in the same period of 2012.