China produced 82.53 million tons of rolled steel in the first quarter this year, up 22.39 percent year on year, while it consumed 83.31 million tons of rolled steel during the same period, a net rise of 11.01 percent.

These figures have been provided by the China Iron and Steel Association, which expects the rolled steel price to somewhat drop in the light of the present supply-demand situation.

In the first three months of 2005, China turned out 77.79 million tons of crude steel, a jump of 25.2 percent year on year, and 72.57 million tons of pig iron, an increase of 27.32 percent year on year, according to the association.

China's rolled steel output ranked the first in the world over the past nine years, making up 14 percent of the world's total steel output. The country's steel output amounted to 220 million tons in 2003 and, this year, it is projected to climb to 350 million tons, the association notes.

Meanwhile, the demand for rolled steel has risen by an annual average of some 20 percent in the past five years since 2000 as more and more people in China buy cars and refrigerators and the country builds in preparation for the Beijing 2008 Olympics Games.