China crude steel output up slightly in mid Nov-CISA

China's daily crude steel production rose by 0.4 percent to 1.607 million tons in the middle 10 days of November, data from the China Iron & Steel Association (CISA) showed on Monday.

China produced 1.601 million tons of crude steel per day in the first 10 days of November, amounting to 586.5 million tons for the year when calculated on an annual basis.

CISA's 77 member companies produced 1.338 million tons a day over the period, up 0.6 percent compared to the previous 10 days.

CISA said last week that output for the whole of the year was still expected to reach 624 million tons, up 8.2 percent compared with 2009, with apparent consumption up about 5.6 percent to 596 million tons.

Speaking at an industry conference last Friday, CISA vice-chairman Luo Bingsheng said the industry was still suffering from the "twin pressures" of low product prices and high raw material costs.

The association's vice-secretary general Li Xinchuang said that China's next five-year plan for the industry would focus on restraining overcapacity and eliminating obsolete production facilities.

Li said the new plan would also include measures to encourage steel mills to relocate to the coast, adding that capacity was now too concentrated in urban areas of northern China.