Banking on stimulus, China steelmakers ramp up output

Barges sit docked at a steel stockyard in this aerial photograph in Shanghai, China, on Monday, Feb. 17, 2020. The Chinese government has cut interest rates and loosened lending rules to help offset a slump in activity as the country battles the coronavirus. Many factories across the country are starting to reopen, raising hopes that metals demand will start to rebound. Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg

BEIJING/SINGAPORE: China's steel mills are rapidly cranking up output on rising profit margins and hopes that government stimulus will revive consumption, despite an overhang of inventories and a slowdown in global steel demand due to the coronavirus pandemic.

While mills in Japan, India and Europe are cutting production, China's output of rebar, used for construction, has surged in recent weeks.