NORTHERN China’s Hebei, China’s biggest steelmaking province, produced 16.38 million tons of the material in April, down 7.9 percent on the month and 2.3 percent year on year due to weak demand and tougher pollution controls, official data showed.

    Crude steel output from Hebei in the first four months of the year reached 67.17 million tons, 0.2 percent lower than the same period last year, according to figures from the National Bureau of Statistics.

    National production in April reached 68.91 million tons, down 0.7 percent on the year, while output in the first four months was down 1.3 percent at 270 million tons, hit by China’s slowdown and a decline in construction activity.

    According to the local government, the official steel industry PMI in Hebei fell 0.7 points to 48.8 in April, the 12th consecutive monthly decline.

    Hebei is under pressure to slash annual steel capacity by 60 million tons over the 2014-2017 period, and it has been lobbying for greater economic support from the Central Government. In April it struck a deal with banks to secure around US$100 billion in loans to help finance the province’s “industrial transformation.”(SD-Agencies)