China’s Economy Contracts, But Steel Production Rises
- According to Reuters, China’s economy contracted 6.8 percent in the first quarter of 2020 from the same time last year, the first time there has been a quarterly contraction since China started publishing gross domestic product data in 1992. Per capita disposable income was down 3.9 percent while industrial output declined 1.1 percent.
- Yahoo Finance reports crude steel production in China increased 1.2 percent to 234.5 million tons in the first quarter of 2020 “even though the coronavirus pandemic ravaged domestic steel demand.” According to the World Steel Association, Chinese production rose 8.3 percent to 996.3 million tons in 2019. The country’s share of the world crude steel production, meanwhile, increased to 53.3 percent in 2019 from 50.9 percent in 2018.