Steel sector makes headway in capacity reduction

China's steel sector made considerable progress in the reduction and elimination of excess industrial capacity during the first six months of the year, while its ongoing efforts to curb pollution continued to bear fruit, experts said.

During the first six months of this year, the nation produced 373 million metric tons of iron, 451 million tons of crude steel and 5.31 million tons of finished steel, up 0.5 percent, 6 percent, and 6 percent respectively on an annualized basis, according to data published by the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) on Wednesday.

The association's China Steel Price Index, which tracks the price movement of the commodity in China, stood at 115.8 by the end of June, a 14.6 percent year-on-year growth.