(Adds details)
BEIJING, March 21 (Reuters) - China is considering
cutting its crude steel output by about 2.5% this year, said two
sources familiar with the matter, as it extends a two-year-old
policy to curb emissions by the world's largest steel sector.
The target was proposed by policymakers at a meeting last
week but has not yet been finalised, said the sources, who
attended the meeting but sought anonymity, as they were not
authorised to speak to media.
State planner the National Development and Reform Commission
did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Some officials at last week's meeting said a cut of 2.5%
was too high as the economy was still recovering, the sources
said, adding that the target was expected to be set before the
end of June.
China's steel production plans are closely watched by the
world's iron ore miners, who ship about 1 billion tonnes of the
steelmaking raw material to the country each year.
Iron ore prices have rallied in recent months on
expectations of strong demand from a recovering Chinese economy,
though the state planner is trying to tackle what it says is a
speculation-fuelled rally.
China adopted controls on crude steel output in 2021 after
pledging to reach peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and
achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.
Industry discussion in recent weeks has focused on whether
China would continue the policy this year, with Beijing keen to
support economic growth after last year's tough COVID measures
led to the slowest growth in nearly half a century.
Last week, Bloomberg reported that China would continue to
curb output this year.
China produced 1.018 billion tonnes of steel last year, down
1.7% from the prior year, official data show. In 2021, output
fell 3% from a record 1.065 billion tonnes the year before.
Last year the NDRC confirmed in April that it would curb
steel output that year.
(Reporting by Amy Lv, Jing Xu and Dominique Patton; Editing by
Muralikumar Anantharaman and Clarence Fernandez)
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