India's steel production grew at a modest 1.5% in May this year compared to the global growth rate of 2.6%, a top global industry body said. The country produced 6.73 million tonnes during May against 6.63 million tonnes a year earlier. In fact, domestic steel output in May slipped in contrast to April this year, when steel output grew at 3.5%. The world average rate of growth was below India's rate and hovering around 1.2% during the month.

However, in the first five months this year (Jan-May 2013), India's steel production is estimated to have grown at 3% to 33.5 million tones, which is well above the world average rate of 2.1% to 658 million tonnes, industry body World Steel Association (WSA) said.

The world's largest steel producer China's production was up by 7.3% at 67 million tonnes in May this year. Among the major steel producing nations, Japan's output grew by 4.3% to 9.6 million tonnes in May. However, pitted against Asian competitors, South Korea's output dropped by a sharp 7.1% to 5.5 million tonnes in the month under review. Among the European Union countries, production in Germany dipped by 1.5%, while Italy posted an 11.1 % decline in steel production. France also saw a lower steel production with growth falling by 3.5%. Steel production also dropped in strife-torn Turkey by 2% to 3 million tonnes, WSA said while releasing its latest round of data.