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Japanese Q2 2012 crude steel output highest in 5 quarters
Add Time：2012-07-20 21:16:00 Clicks：
The Japan Iron & Steel Federation said that Japan's crude steel output rose on an annual basis in the April to June quarter for the first time in five quarters, as robust car output bolstered the sagging sector, but a strong yen currency and slowing car sales cloud the outlook for the third quarter.
It added that crude steel output in the second quarter rose by 4.3% YoY to 27.5 million tonnes, a level not seen since the January to March quarter of 2011.
Japan suffered its worst earthquake on record in March 2011, which, together with a tsunami and nuclear crisis that followed, wreaked havoc on its economy and left 19,000 people dead or missing.
Domestic car production surged from disaster hit lows in 2011, buoyed by government subsidies for environmentally friendly cars, while the yen's brief respite to a year high of JPY 84 at the end of March 2012 helped prop up exports during the quarter. But the government has almost consumed the budget and is about to end the subsidies.
JISF also expects a deceleration of the Chinese economy to take a toll of the region's economy, stepping up competition in export markets and slowing demand in other emerging markets in Asia.
A JISF official said that "We face deterioration in market conditions both in the domestic and export markets in the following quarter."
Speaking to reporters, Mr Hiroshi Tomono chairman of JISF said that "We're bracing ourselves for a backlash of the strong car output in the first half that will come later this year."
Domestic new car sales in the period from January to June 2012 jumped 54% YoY to 2.95 million units, the highest in six years.
Crude steel output in June 2012 rose by 3.5% YoY to 9.2 million tonnes, aided by a rise of 8.7% in the output of electric furnace steel makers, which produce construction steel.
It was a fourth consecutive annual gain, but June 2012 output fell 0.3% MoM from May 2012 before seasonal adjustment.
JISF said that demand for long products is solid because of ongoing large development projects in the Tokyo area.
Output of steel sheets by blast furnace steelmakers such as Nippon Steel Corporation and JFE Steel Corporation for use by manufacturers slipped 1.1% in the first decline in four months, as the yen resumed its advance against the US dollar.
Japan's trade ministry estimates crude steel output in the July to September 2012 quarter at 27.1 million tonnes, based on a survey of steelmakers and inventory levels at the end of June 2012. It expects a decline in Asia's steel market to curtail exports 1.9% from the previous three months.
Domestic passenger car production surged 60% from a disaster hit low 2011 to 781,340 units in May 2012.
On March 11th 2011, Japan's northeast coast was struck by a magnitude 9 earthquake, and a massive tsunami that triggered the world's worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl 25 years ago.
It added that crude steel output in the second quarter rose by 4.3% YoY to 27.5 million tonnes, a level not seen since the January to March quarter of 2011.
Japan suffered its worst earthquake on record in March 2011, which, together with a tsunami and nuclear crisis that followed, wreaked havoc on its economy and left 19,000 people dead or missing.
Domestic car production surged from disaster hit lows in 2011, buoyed by government subsidies for environmentally friendly cars, while the yen's brief respite to a year high of JPY 84 at the end of March 2012 helped prop up exports during the quarter. But the government has almost consumed the budget and is about to end the subsidies.
JISF also expects a deceleration of the Chinese economy to take a toll of the region's economy, stepping up competition in export markets and slowing demand in other emerging markets in Asia.
A JISF official said that "We face deterioration in market conditions both in the domestic and export markets in the following quarter."
Speaking to reporters, Mr Hiroshi Tomono chairman of JISF said that "We're bracing ourselves for a backlash of the strong car output in the first half that will come later this year."
Domestic new car sales in the period from January to June 2012 jumped 54% YoY to 2.95 million units, the highest in six years.
Crude steel output in June 2012 rose by 3.5% YoY to 9.2 million tonnes, aided by a rise of 8.7% in the output of electric furnace steel makers, which produce construction steel.
It was a fourth consecutive annual gain, but June 2012 output fell 0.3% MoM from May 2012 before seasonal adjustment.
JISF said that demand for long products is solid because of ongoing large development projects in the Tokyo area.
Output of steel sheets by blast furnace steelmakers such as Nippon Steel Corporation and JFE Steel Corporation for use by manufacturers slipped 1.1% in the first decline in four months, as the yen resumed its advance against the US dollar.
Japan's trade ministry estimates crude steel output in the July to September 2012 quarter at 27.1 million tonnes, based on a survey of steelmakers and inventory levels at the end of June 2012. It expects a decline in Asia's steel market to curtail exports 1.9% from the previous three months.
Domestic passenger car production surged 60% from a disaster hit low 2011 to 781,340 units in May 2012.
On March 11th 2011, Japan's northeast coast was struck by a magnitude 9 earthquake, and a massive tsunami that triggered the world's worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl 25 years ago.