Steel profits down

China's price regulator said Wednesday that total profits in the steel industry declined by 53.4 percent to 82 billion yuan ($13.11 billion) in the first eight months of this year, and profits from steel processing dropped by 81.1 percent to 19.3 billion yuan.

According to the National Development and Reform Commission, crude steel production hit 542 million tons in the first three quarters, up 1.7 percent year-on-year, but the growth declined by 9 percentage points compared with the same period last year.