China's major steel mills saw their average daily output of crude steel skid 4.4 percent year on year to about 2.04 million tonnes in early August, according to the China Iron and Steel Association.

The country reported the first year-on-year contraction in crude steel output in late July since the start of 2021, eyeing a 3.03-percent decrease.

As part of the green shift by its energy-consuming steel industry, China has vowed to ensure that its crude steel output falls in 2021 from a year earlier.

In 2020, the crude steel output rose by 5.2 percent year on year to exceed 1.05 billion tonnes, according to the association. Enditem