Chinese Steel Mills started revamping its operations, ahead of an expected recovery in demand in March/April, 2012

Reuters reported that China daily crude steel reached 1.926 million tonnes in February up from 1.83 million tonnes in January as mills began ramping up operations ahead of a predicted recovery in demand in March and April.
The figures, first to be released for 2012, suggest a more rapid increase in output than predicted and could help allay at least some of the gloom that has descended on China's steel sector with daily runs recovering from 1.6827 million tonnes in December.
They are also considerably higher than estimates issued by the China Iron and Steel Association which put daily crude steel output at less than 1.7 million tonnes in February.
The National Bureau of Statistics said crude steel output over the full 29 days of February stood at 55.88 million tonnes up 3.3% on last year, but still down nearly half a percent when calculated on a daily basis. Traders have said that recent de-stocking activity indicates further improvements in the market over the coming weeks.
A trader based in Beijing said "We may not see an immediate and rapid rise in steel output, but de-stocking is going on increasingly, so I am optimistic about steel prices because supply hasn't grown much."
He said "Some new construction sites in northern Chinese regions have not started due to the cold snap, but once these new projects begin, it will provide a big lift for steel demand, adding that he expected prices to keep rising until the end of April."
China produced 112.62 million tonnes of steel in the first two months of this year up by 2.2% from a year ago. This means crude steel output in January alone was 56.73 million tonnes. The bureau did not provide January output data last month because the Lunar New Year break interrupted its data release schedule.
Daily runs topped 1.9 million tonnes in February last year and stayed there until October when steelmakers began to scale back operations amid concerns about falling demand.
China industry ministry said China crude steel output was expected to rise 7% to 730 million tonnes this year after growing 8.9% last year.

Source–Reuter