CIS steel production drops 11 percent in June

Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) steel production declined by almost 11 percent during June 2015. A sharp decline in production was recorded in Moldova and Ukraine.

Crude steel production in the CIS declined 10.7 percent during the month of June on an annualized basis, according to the latest data released by the World Steel Association.

Total crude steel production in Belarus rose 7.70 percent in June this year to 232,000 tonnes, up from 215,000 tonnes of steel in June 2014. Kazakhstan produced 312,000 tons of crude steel, up 7.2 percent from 291,000 tons in June last year. Total steel production in Russia decreased by 7.5 percent to 5.643 million tonnes in June this year, compared to 6.101 million tonnes of steel smelted in June 2014.

Moldova recorded 28,000 tons of steel production during the month, significantly reducing output by 22.2 percent over the previous year. There was a decline in crude steel production in Ukraine during June. Total steel production in Ukraine fell sharply by 21.8 percent to 2.004 million tonnes in June 2015 compared to 2.563 million tonnes of steel output in June last year. In addition, Uzbekistan's steel production dropped significantly by 12.2 percent during the month.

Cumulative steel production in thousands of tonnes in the first six months in 2015 compared to the same period in 2014: Belarus - 1,364 (13.4 percent growth), Kazakhstan - 1,860 (4.5 percent growth), Moldova - 157 (fall 19.0 percent), Russia - 35713 (an increase of 0.8 percent), Ukraine - 11258 (a fall of 27.2 percent), Uzbekistan - 347 (a drop of 9.4 percent).