(Recasts with an annual output, detail)
TOKYO, April 21 (Reuters) - Crude steel output in Japan,
the world's No.3 steel producer, fell by 8.1% in fiscal 2022/23
as slow car output due to chip shortages weighed on demand while
exports weakened reflecting sluggish overseas economies.
Output, which is not seasonally adjusted, fell to 87.85
million tonnes in the year ended March 31, marking the first
annual decline in two years, the Japan Iron and Steel Federation
said on Friday.
Steel production for the January-March quarter slid 6.0% to
21.62 million tonnes.
Output in March fell 5.9% from a year earlier to 7.49
million tonnes, marking a 13th consecutive monthly decline,
though it rose 8.2% from February.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) said this
month that Japan's crude steel output is forecast to fall 4.6%
in the April-June quarter to 21.92 million tonnes.
However, Nippon Steel Corp , Japan's top steelmaker,
expects a slight increase in its crude steel output in the
financial year which began this month after a slump last year,
Executive Vice President Takahiro Mori said in March, predicting
automobile production would pick up after supply chain snags
ease.
(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; editing by Jason Neely)
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