South American steel output edges higher

South American crude steel production rose 3% year-on-year to 18.4Mt in the first five months, according to the World Steel Association (Worldsteel).

Brazil saw output climb 1.4% to an estimated 14.3Mt. Next was Argentina with 2.14Mt, up 22%.

Production in Venezuela rose 5.5% to 238,000t, while output in Peru increased 1% to an estimated 508,000t. Chile and Colombia reported figures of 463,000t each, down 4.8% and 12.5%, respectively. Ecuador's production reached 243,000t, or 4.5% higher.

Production in North and Central America, including Cuba, increased 3.1% to 49.5Mt in the period, with 8.75t in Mexico, 4.8% higher year-on-year.

Output from China totaled 370Mt in January-May, up 5.4%. China accounted for 50.7% of total steel produced in the 64 countries taken into account by Worldsteel, which represent about 99% of global production.