In June this year, Germany's crude steel output amounted to 3.7 million metric tons, down two percent compared to the same month of the previous year, according to the information provided by the German steel federation Wirtschaftsvereinigung Stahl (WV Stahl). In the first half of 2013, Germany's crude steel production totaled 21.7 million metric tons, indicating a slight decline of 0.7 percent as compared to the same period of 2012.

The federation noted that the capacity utilization in the first half of the year was 85 percent in German steel industry, amid relatively weak demand from external markets. High and volatile raw material costs as well as the significant under-utilization of production facilities in many parts of Europe negatively affected the country's steel production.

On the other hand, in May this year Germany's total hot rolled steel product output amounted to 3 million metric tons, decreasing 7.1 percent year on year, including 1.9 million metric tons of flat steel products - down 13.3 percent year on year, and 1.1 million metric tons of long steel products - up 5.5 percent year on year. In the January-May period, the country's total hot rolled steel product output amounted to 15.6 million metric tons, decreasing 1.3 percent compared to January-May 2012, including 10.2 million metric tons of flat steel products - down 2.1 percent year on year, and 5.4 million metric tons of long steel products - remaining stable year on year.