* June crude steel output down 1.3% m/m; up 0.2% y/y
* H1 crude steel output down 1.1%
* July output likely to be higher than June on improved demand-analysts
BEIJING, July 15 (Reuters) - China's crude steel output in June fell 1.3% from May, statistics bureau data showed on Monday, curbed by dwindling demand and shrinking steel margins.
The world's largest steel producer made 91.61 million metric tons of crude steel last month, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed, versus 92.86 million tons in May.
It was up 0.2% from a year earlier, the data showed.
Steel demand eased last month as summer heatwaves and heavy rains in southern regions curbed construction activities.
"Supply pressures mounted amid seasonally slack demand, deteriorating market confidence, sending downward pressure to steel prices," said Kevin Bai, a Beijing-based analyst at consultancy CRU Group.
"Also weighing on June output is that steel exports showed signs of weakening last month."
Steel exports
slid by more than 9% from May to 8.75 million tons in June, customs data showed last week.
In response to falling steel prices and higher inventories, several steelmakers scaled down output and some carried out equipment maintenance.
The June number represents an average daily output of about 3.05 million tons, the highest since April 2023, according to Reuters calculations based on the NBS data
That is compared to about 3 million tons in May and 3.04 million tons in June 2023.
Daily output in June was higher than the previous month in part because June has one less day, said Ge Xin, a Beijing-based analyst at consultancy Lange Steel.
China produced 530.57 million tons of crude steel in the first half of 2024, down 1.1% from the same period in 2023, NBS data showed.
Improved demand and better margins are expected to drive up production in July, analysts said. (Reporting by Amy Lv and Mei Mei Chu; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Christian Schmollinger)
