Reuters
Japan’s Oct-Dec crude steel output forecast to slip
TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan’s crude steel output is expected to fall for a fourth consecutive quarter in the last three months of the year, due to a slow pick-up in auto production amid a shortage of chips, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) said on Friday. METI forecast a 6.8% fall to 22.55 million tonnes in the October-December period from 24.20 million tonnes a year earlier, as parts-supply disruptions continue to affect Japanese automakers’ global production. “Automobile production is expected to recover gradually, but there is also a downside risk since the shortage of semiconductors has not been completely eliminated,” Daisuke Matsuno, director of the metal industries division at METI, told a news conference.