China daily steel output 1.646 mln T in early Dec -Mysteel

BEIJING, Dec 22 (Reuters) - China's daily crude steel output reached 1.646 million tonnes in the first 10 days of December, down 1.5 percent from the end of November, according to figures from industry consultancy Mysteel.

While daily output has slowed slightly amid a seasonal lull in end-user demand, the figure remains much higher than the January-November average of 1.55 million tonnes, with mills and steel traders building stocks before a series of price hikes in January.

Total output from January to November reached 518.177 million tonnes, up 12.1 percent compared with the same period last year.

(Reporting by David Stanway, Editing by Ken Wills)

(([e-mail]; [phone]; Reuters Messaging: [e-mail])) Keywords: CHINA STEEL/OUTPUT (If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to [e-mail]) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.