A Chinese steel expert attributed the lowering steel price, which has been on decline since last April, to insufficient demand and excessive market supply.

"Domestic steel output grows, so does the demand, but the output increases even faster," said Wu Xichun, former chief and now an advisor of the China Steel Industry Association.

In August this year, the daily steel output in China reached 982,500 tons, or 358 million tons for a year, Wu said.

China was a net steel exporter before last July, but since then, the country became a net importer. The country imported 110,000 tons of steel and billets in July and the figure shot up to 580,000 tons in August.

Wu estimates China's steel import at 26 million tons for entire 2005 and the steel output at 344 million tons, 70 million tons more than last year.

"The supply of steel surpassed demand two months ago, and the supply is still increasing," he said.

Wu blamed disorderly competitions among steel plants in the country for the oversupply.

(Xinhua News Agency October 5, 2005)