The overall energy consumption of China's major iron and steel enterprises fell by 8.8 percent in 2006 from the previous year, according to a report published by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

The unit energy consumption for producing each ton of steel was down by 7.1 percent, the report says.

The report says that in 2006 the overall energy consumption of the country's large and mid-sized iron and steel enterprises totaled 198 million tons of coal equivalent, or 645.12 kilograms of coal equivalent for producing each ton of steel.

Meanwhile, the water consumption for each ton of steel was 6.56 tons, down 14.9 percent year-on-year, according to the report.

The iron and steel industry has for years been China's top energy consumer, accounting for one tenth of the country's total energy consumption.

The NDRC reported earlier that in 2006, China's crude steel output surged 18.48 percent year-on-year to reach 418.78 million tons, while the production of pig iron jumped 19.78 percent to 404.17 million tons, and the output of steel products was up 24.45 percent to 466.85 million tons.

Source: Xinhua