Crude steel production in the Middle East declined by 19.4pct YoY to 3.9 mln tons in May 2026, according to data from the World Steel Association. As a result, regional crude steel production during the January-May period fell by 14.6pct YoY to 19.9 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.
In Africa, crude steel production increased by 10.3pct YoY to 2.1 mln tons in May, while output during the January-May period rose by 8.2pct to 10.5 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 3.4 mln tons in May, up 8.9pct YoY. During the January-May period, Turkish crude steel production increased by 6.8pct to 16.5 mln tons.
Globally, crude steel production by the 70 countries reporting to the World Steel Association declined by 0.3pct YoY to 157.9 mln tons in May. During the first five months of 2026, global output fell by 1.5pct to 773.1 mln tons.
China’s crude steel production declined by 2.7pct YoY to 84.4 mln tons in May, with January-May output down 3.9pct to 415.5 mln tons.
India produced 14.1 mln tons of crude steel in May, up 1.9pct YoY, while production during the January-May period increased by 7.8pct to 72.9 mln tons.
In the United States, crude steel production rose by 9.2pct YoY to 7.5 mln tons in May, while January-May output increased by 6.8pct to 35.6 mln tons.