24% Increase in Iran's Steel Production

The World Steel Association reported a 24% increase in Iran's steel production in October compared to the same month last year. According to this international body, Iran's steel production in October reached 1.64 million tons, showing an increase of about 23.9% compared to October 2015. The total steel production in Iran for the first ten months of 2016 also reached 14.85 million tons, indicating a growth of approximately 9.6% compared to the same period in 2015. This report, published on the official website of the World Steel Association, highlights a significant increase in Iran's steel production while global steel production has slightly decreased over the same ten months, with a total growth of only 3.3% among 66 major steel-producing countries in October. These countries produced a total of 136.523 million tons of steel last month. In a related report, the IRNA news agency stated that Iranian steelmakers produced 10.741 million tons of crude steel in the first seven months of this year (from March to October), showing an 8% increase compared to the same period last year, which was 9.946 million tons. IRNA added that during these seven months, 10.285 million tons of various steel products (including beams, coils, wide sheets, rebar, hot rolled sheets, cold rolled sheets, and coated sheets) were supplied to the market, which indicates a nearly 4% decrease compared to the same period last year, which was 10.694 million tons. According to the report, during the first seven months of this year, 1.999 million tons of crude steel and 1.296 million tons of various steel products were exported, showing a growth of 103% and 5%, respectively, compared to the same period last year. IRNA also reported that in the first seven months of the solar year, 150,000 tons of crude steel and 1.807 million tons of various steel products were imported, which represents a growth of 229% and a decrease of 18%, respectively, compared to the same period last year.