China’s Old Economy Springs June Surprise With Steel Record

  • June was busiest month ever on daily basis for nation’s mills
  • Output still contracted in first half compared with 2015
Photographer: Kevin Frayer/Getty Images
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China churned out a record amount of steel daily in June as mills in the world’s top producer boosted supply to take advantage of a rebound in prices, surprising analysts who’d expected a weaker figure.

Crude-steel output expanded 1.7 percent to 69.47 million metric tons last month from a year earlier, according to data from the statistics bureau on Friday. On a daily basis, the rate of 2.32 million tons surpassed the previous high set in April, Bloomberg calculations based on the figures show.