Steel production confirms slowing industrial output
Data released yesterday from “worldsteel” on global iron and steel production confirmed slowing output. Global steel production for August 2012 was down 1% year on year. Steel production from the European Union for August was down 15% year on year, taking annual output to 144 million tonnes, or 9.6% of the 1.5 billion tonnes per annum of global production. Chinese steel production has slipped in recent months from an annualised 750 million tonnes to 700 million tonnes, or 47% of global production.
For 2013, Australia’s Bureau of Resources and Energy have recently cut their iron-ore forecast to US$101/ tonne, while many brokers are still assuming a price of at least US130/tonne. We continue to watch the steel numbers closely.
Chief Executive Officer of Montgomery Investment Management, David Buckland has over 30 years of industry experience. David is a deeply knowledgeable and highly experienced financial services executive. Prior to joining Montgomery in 2012, David was CEO and Executive Director of Hunter Hall for 11 years, as well as a Director at JP Morgan in Sydney and London for eight years.
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