Crude Steel Output by Middle East Region Bucks Global Trend

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The Middle East region witnessed substantial jump in crude steel production in March this year, upon comparison with the year-before month. This is at a time when the global output as well as the output by several other regions recorded year-on-year decline.

The statistics published by the World Steel Association (worldsteel) indicates that the regional crude steel production surged higher by nearly 10% year-on-year. The production totalled 3.352 million tonnes (Mt), higher by 9.7% when matched with the output of 3.056 Mt in March 2019.

The decline in output by Qatar was offset by increased production in other countries. The largest steel producer in the region was Iran, whose output totalled 2.250 Mt. The country accounted for almost 67% of the combined regional output. Iran’s production surged higher by 14.1% from the prior year. The other key producers were Saudi Arabia (675,000 tonnes), the UAE (264,000 tonnes) and Qatar (163,000 tonnes). The output by Qatar plunged over 30%, whereas the UAE production surged higher by 25%.

The combined output by the region during the initial three months of 2020 totalled 10.243 Mt, which is higher by 7.7% when matched with the output of 9.509 Mt in Jan-Mar ’19. The top producers in the region were Iran (6.750 Mt), Saudi Arabia (2.064 Mt), the UAE (857,000 tonnes) and Qatar (572,000 tonnes).

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