Must-Read: Bloomberg News: China Steel Head Says Demand Slumping at Unprecedented Speed

Must-Read: Bloomberg News: China Steel Head Says Demand Slumping at Unprecedented Speed: “Crude steel output in the country fell 2.1 percent to 608.9 million tons…

…in the first nine months of this year…. Steel rebar futures in Shanghai sank to a record on Wednesday as local iron ore prices fell to a three-month low…. China’s mills face some of their worst conditions ever and the vast majority are losing money, Citigroup Inc. said in September. The outlook is the worst ever amid unprecedented losses, Macquarie Group Ltd. said this month. China’s steel production may contract by a fifth should the country’s path follow the Europe, the U.S. and Japan, Shanghai Baosteel Group Chairman Xu Lejiang told reporters in Shanghai last week. The company is China’s second-largest mill by output. ‘Financing remains an acute problem as banks strictly restricted lending to the steel sector,’ Zhu said. ‘Many mills found their loans difficult to extend or were asked to pay higher interest’…