Steel industry output rises against slowing sales

China's steel industry made 153 million yuan ($24.72 million) in profits in April, the fourth monthly decline, according to the China Iron and Steel Association on Wednesday.

Steel makers in deficit are up 2.3 percent, at 39.5 percent, from the same period last year.

Steel sales in the first quarter increased by 0.8 percent year-on-year to 1.2 trillion yuan, turning a profit of 2.7 billion yuan, 2.7 times the profit from the same period in 2012.

Output keeps rising against downward sales. Pig iron output stood at 239 million tons in April, up 7 percent year-on-year. Meanwhile, inventories remain high and reached a record volume of 21.9 million tons at the end of March.

Though the steel industry has begun to turn a profit, the market will continue to go down due to slowing demand and intensive production, the association said.