CIS steel production fell 5 percent in January

Steel production in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) declined by more than 5 percent during January this year. Belarus, Russia and Uzbekistan reported declines in production during the month. At the same time, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Moldova showed growth in steel production over this period.

Crude steel production in the CIS countries fell 5.3 percent year on year in January, according to the latest data released by the World Steel Association.

The total production of crude steel smelted by Belarus in January of this year decreased by 2.0 percent to 200,000 tons, compared with 204,000 tons in January 2015. Kazakhstan produced 345,000 tons of steel, up 39.6 percent from 247,000 tons in January last year. Moldova recorded an output of 50,000 tons of steel during the month, significantly increasing it by 525 percent over the previous year. Total crude steel production in Russia decreased by 10.6 percent to 5.554 million tonnes in January this year, compared to 6.213 million tonnes in January 2015.

There was a slight increase in crude steel production in Ukraine during January. Total crude steel production in Ukraine increased by 3.6 percent to 1.938 million tonnes in January 2016, compared to 1.870 million tonnes in January last year. At the same time, the volume of steel production in Uzbekistan decreased by 3.5 percent during the month.