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PrintGlobal crude steel production rose in July as a recent price upturn helped boost output in top producer China and in the United States, while suffering European steelmakers continued to curb volumes.
World production rose 2.7 percent to 132 million tonnes in July from the same month a year ago, figures from industry body the World Steel Association showed on Tuesday.
A recent rise in steel prices has encouraged an increase in production, even while overcapacity continues to afflict the sector.
China, which produces half of the world's steel supply and is also its top consumer, posted a 6.2 percent increase in output to 65.5 million tonnes and helped drive Asian production almost 5 percent higher.
"Chinese output remains high," said Jeremy Platt, an analyst at steel consultancy Meps.
"Scheduled maintenance and environmental programs have had limited impact, and price rises usually encourage Chinese mills to increase output. Oversupply pressures remain."
Speeches made by high-ranking officials recently indicate that China's cabinet is considering deeper structural reforms to bloated, inefficient and debt-laden sectors such as steel.
Market players say, however, it will take a long time before such reforms will be effective in cutting China's surplus capacity, estimated at around 300 million tonnes, or the equivalent to nearly twice the output of the European Union last year.
Elsewhere in Asia, output in Japan, the world's third-largest producer, increased 0.5 percent in July from the same month a year before to 9.3 million tonnes, the data showed.
India, another major Asian producer posted 4.3 percent growth in steel output in July to 6.7 million tonnes, while South Korea registered a 5.8 percent contraction year-on-year to 5.6 million.
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