China's output of steel and that of rolled steel reached 61.4665 million tons and 67.2646 million tons respectively in the first quarter of 2004, up 26.38 percent and 29.47 percent over the same period of 2003, according to official statistics.

The prices of steel and steel products in domestic markets maintained high prices with little fluctuations, but the prices indomestic markets were relatively lower than that in international markets, according to the statistics released by China's steel industry association on Monday.

The statistics show that the consumption of rolled steel in thefirst quarter reached 75.72 million tons, up 28.32 percent year-on-year, including a record quarter-period rolled steel import of 10.078 million tons. Meanwhile, the net imports of billet hit 1.5077 million tons, up 4.6 times year-on-year.

The profits of the steel industry increased at a high speed. The sales income of China's 66 major steel and iron companies was 217.35 billion yuan (26.19 billion US dollars) in the first quarter, up 71.86 percent year-on-year, while the profits reached 19.96 billion yuan (2.4 billion US dollars), up 126.12 percent.

Source: Xinhua