Japan's crude steel output in Aug. up for 1st time in 6 months

Japan's crude steel output in Aug. up for 1st time in 6 months. Crude steel production in August edged up 0.1 percent from a year earlier to 8.91 million tons, marking the first rise in six months due partly to recovery in auto production from reduction after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, an industry body said Tuesday. But the crude steel output has not recovered to predisaster levels as it has stayed below 9 million tons, an official of the Japan Iron and Steel Federation said. The August output figure was down 2.7 percent from the previous month as exports declined and some producers cut their output, it said. Steel production a year earlier was lower than usual due to factory trouble at a leading steelmaker, contributing to the year-on-year increase in August, the steel group said. As the yen's historic appreciation and China's increased output have restrained Japan's exports, it may hamper Japan's future recovery in output, an official of a major steelmaker said. By product category, the output of specialty steel, much of which is used in automobiles, increased 6.9 percent from a year earlier to 2.07 million tons, the first rise in six months, while that of ordinary steel fell 1.8 percent to 6.84 million tons for the first fall in two months.