Crude steel production in the Middle East declined by 13.4pct YoY to 4.0 mln tons in June 2026, according to data from the World Steel Association. During the January-June period, regional crude steel production fell by 7.3pct YoY to 25.9 mln tons.
The Middle East region includes Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Yemen.
Iran, the region’s largest steel producer, remained outside the global top 10 steel-producing countries amid continued disruptions to production and exports. While the YoY decline moderated from 19.4pct in May to 13.4pct in June, renewed geopolitical tensions continue to weigh on sentiment and keep the regional steel outlook uncertain.
In Africa, crude steel production increased by 20.0pct YoY to 2.2 mln tons in June, while output during the January-June period rose by 10.0pct to 12.6 mln tons. Production was reported from Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Africa and Tunisia.
Turkey, the world’s seventh-largest steel producer, recorded crude steel output of 3.3 mln tons in June, up 14.7pct YoY. During the January-June period, Turkish crude steel production increased by 8.1pct to 19.8 mln tons.
Globally, crude steel production by the 70 countries reporting to World Steel Association increased by 1.7pct YoY to 155.7 mln tons in June. However, during the first six months of 2026, global output declined by 0.7pct YoY to 931.5 mln tons.
China’s crude steel production increased by 0.4pct YoY to 83.7 mln tons in June, although output during the January-June period declined by 3.0pct to 500.0 mln tons.
India produced 14.1 mln tons of crude steel in June, up 4.5pct YoY, while production during the January-June period increased by 7.1pct to 87.0 mln tons.
In the United States, crude steel production rose by 3.5pct YoY to 7.2 mln tons in June, while January-June output increased by 6.3pct to 42.8 mln tons.