World stainless steel output to rise 5.1% in 2007

Global stainless steel production may gain 5.1 per cent this year as China, the world's largest producer of the corrosion-resistant metal, continues to lead growth, according to the International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF).

Global output would probably increase to 29.8 mt this year after rising 17 per cent in 2006 to 28.36 mt, the Brussels-based organisation said at a conference in Kyoto today. Production in Asia might rise 12 per cent to 16.85 mt, driven by China and India, it said.

China's economic growth has exceeded 10 per cent in the past five quarters, fuelling demand for stainless steel, used in cookware and building.

The nation's stainless steel output rose 68 per cent to 5.3 mt in 2006, overtaking Japan as the biggest producer, according to the ISSF.

China's production could increase 40-50 per cent from the last year's output, Chai Zhiyong, president of Shanxi Taigang Stainless Steel Co, said in an interview in Kyoto today.

The ISSF, which represents companies including ThyssenKrupp, Arcelor Mittal and Taigang, didn't give a specific forecast for China's output this year. Production in Asian countries apart from China and India would either decline or remain unchanged, it said.