China's crude steel output hit a new record high in August as firm domestic demand extended into the traditional late summer low season. Crude steel output stood at 94.85mn t in August, up by 1.6pc from July and higher by 8.4pc from a year earlier, according to data from the national bureau of statistics. Average daily crude steel output increased by 1.6pc to 3.06mn t/d from 3.012mn t/d in July. Total production in January-August rose by 3.7pc from a year earlier to 688.89mn t. August output equated to 1.1169bn t/yr on an annualised basis. The higher steel output arose from still-strong downstream demand even as the ... (full story)