In May 2024, China's steel market experienced a slight rebound due to strengthening macro policies, stable terminal demand, and resilient costs, which stimulated steel mills to increase production. According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, crude steel production reached 92.86 million tons in May, a 2.7% year-on-year increase. Pig iron production was 76.13 million tons, down by 1.2%, while steel products production rose by 3.4% year on year to 122.7 million tons.

Daily average output in May saw significant increases: crude steel at about 3 million tons (up by 4.5% month-on-month), pig iron at 2.46 million tons (up by 2.8% month on month), and steel products at 3.96 million tons (up by 1.9% month on month). This marks three consecutive months of rising daily crude steel production, two months for pig iron, and a return to growth for steel.

In early June, steel mills increased production capacity amid macro policy expectations and seasonal effects. The average blast furnace operating rate at 100 small and medium-sized steel companies was 74.9%, while the daily output of hot metal from 201 companies was 2.198 million tons. The first ten days of June saw key steel companies produce 1.99 million tons of pig iron daily (up by 3.03%), 2.25 million tons of crude steel (up by 3.30%), and 2.12 million tons of steel (down by 5.26%).

China's economy continues to rebound, with production growing steadily and demand recovering. Despite external challenges, positive macro policies and economic recovery expectations provide upward momentum for the steel market in June, with daily crude steel output projected to remain around 3 million tons.