BEIJING : China’s crude steel output fell for the fourth consecutive month in October, official data showed on Wednesday, as more mills implemented furnace maintenance amid thinning margins and disappointing demand in the peak consumption season. The world’s largest steel producer manufactured 79.09 million metric tons of the metal last month, down 3.7 per cent from 82.11 million tons in September, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed. While a decline from September was expected, the drop was steeper than estimated, with production 1.8 per cent lower than a year ago. Analysts had pegged October output at between 80 million and 81 million tons, higher than 79.76 million tons in Oct. 2022. Average daily crude steel output was…
