Steel output hits 2009 peak in July

       Global crude steel production dropped over 10% year-on-year in July,but rose to its highest level of 2009 as producers brought back idled capacity on improved demand.
       Production for the month was 103.9 million tonnes, down 11.1% compared with July 2008, but up from 99.7 million tonnes in June this year, figures from the World Steel Association showed.
       But for the first seven months of the year output remained 19.9% lower at 652.9 million tonnes compared with the same period last year.
       Crude steel output in China, the world's biggest producer and consumer of the metal, has bucked the trend and rose by 12.6% in July to 50.7 million tonnes.
       This was the first time the country has produced more than 50 million tonnes of steel in a single month, accounting for almost half of the world's total production.