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Japan crude steel output drops nearly 8% y/y in October on weak demand

Japan's unrefined steel output fell 7.8% in October from a year ago, marking an eighth successive month of yearly decline as need from local construction and manufacturing markets remained weak, the Japan Iron and Steel Federation stated on Thursday.

Unrefined steel output, which is not seasonally adjusted, dropped to 6.92 million metric heaps in October, although it was a 4.6% increase from September.

Production in the world's third-biggest steelmaking nation has been decreasing, weighed down by sluggish building activities amid rising material expenses and labour shortages, in addition to a. slow healing in car production, an expert at the. federation stated.

Increased imports also added to pressure, the expert stated.

In spite of slack demand in Japan and a weaker yen, imports of. normal steel rose by 8.7% to 3.75 million metric loads in. January to September, with imports from China increasing 14%,. the federation data showed.

Together with the plunging abroad markets driven by China's. increasing exports, some Japanese steel exports are also dealing with. headwinds from anti-dumping steps imposed by various. countries, the analyst said.

The Japanese steel industry is feeling a sense of crisis. as the nation's steel imports for the April-September duration. reached a 10-year high, with supply from China hitting a record. high, an executive of Nippon Steel said previously this. month.

The Japanese federal government might take trade action if needed in. reaction to growing steel exports from China, the world's. biggest steel manufacturer, a federal government official said last month.

Chinese steelmakers, currently exporting at near-decade high. volumes, are set to keep pushing out deliveries in 2025 to handle. overcapacity and soft domestic need, industry insiders and. experts state, threatening to get worse mounting trade frictions.

(source: Reuters)