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(Yicai Global) Jan. 22 -- Ongoing progress in reducing overcapacity has eased the problem of a serious glut in China's steel industry, and the capacity use of compliant enterprises has basically returned to a reasonable range, the state People's Daily reported on Jan. 21.
The environment in China's steel market improved significantly last year after a fair market pricing system was restored and steel prices rationally rebounded. The price index of steel in China reached 122 points by late December, up 22 percent from a year earlier.
Enterprises reaped higher profits and industry performance also greatly improved. China Iron and Steel Industry Association's (CISA) members attained sales revenue of CNY3.3 trillion (USD523 billion) last year, up 35 percent from a year earlier, and gained CNY158 billion in profits, a rise of CNY123 billion on the year before, with average sales profits of 5 percent, an increase of 3.2 percentage points over the same period in the year prior.
China's steel exports fell by 670 million tons last year, down 31 percent from the previous year. However, their export value dropped by only 0.5 percent from last year as the proportion of high-end products exported clearly rose.