Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) expects crude steel production in Q4 ending Dec 2020 to decline by 10.7pc from the prior-year quarter. METI expects production to be 21.1mn mt in the period.
From the preceding quarter, the output is expected to rise by 12pc amid a gradual recovery in the manufacturing industry. Slowed consumption in the auto sector pressured steel demand, impacting production.
In Q4 too, Japanese domestic steel demand is set to fall by 13.3mn mt, from the prior-year quarter. From Q3, consumption is expected to increase 5.4pc. METI believes steel exports will decrease by 8.7pc to 6.2mn mt from the prior-year quarter, but increase by 1.5pc from the preceding quarter.