October Middle East Crude Steel Production Increased Rapidly

    According to a monthly report from the World Steel Association, in October, crude steel output in the four Central Asian countries that were included in the WMA statistics increased by 18% YoY to 2.97mt. The first 10 months, the Middle East crude steel output reached 27.17 million tons, an increase of 13.3%. Globally, crude output growth in the Middle East is second only to that in Africa.

    It is noteworthy that Iran's steel production in October reached as high as 1.98 million tons, an increase of 24.2% over the same period; the first 10 months of cumulative production of 17.91 million tons of steel, an increase of 20.9%. The increase in Iran's steel production was mainly driven by the increase in exports. Its domestic steel mills mainly include the Hoerstein Steel Company and Esfahan Steel Company.

    In Saudi Arabia, the largest steel company in Saudi Arabia, production of steel increased by 7.3% in October, an estimated 470,000 tons, but the first 10 months of total steel production decreased by 5.1%. Crude steel production in the United Arab Emirates dropped 5.1% in October to 284,000 tonnes.