According to the data released by NDRC, in November of 2011, Chinese overall crude steel output decreased by 8.8% month over month and by 0.6% year over year to 49.883 million t, signifying the domestic crude steel output has dropped for consecutive six weeks and the yearly crude steel production will reach 680 million t.
Meanwhile, in late November of 2011, the domestic steel price index continued showing a downward trend and stood at 122.33 points, declining by 0.39 points month over month and by 2.95 points year over year.
As for the future market, we predict that the domestic steel demand may dip further in the short run owing to the cold weather effects.