Japan's July crude steel output falls 3.8% on year
Adds comments from industry body and background throughout
By Yuka Obayashi
TOKYO, Aug 22 (Reuters) -Japan's crude steel output fell 3.8% in July from a year earlier, marking the fifth consecutive monthly decline, due to slow demand from local construction and manufacturing industries, the Japan Iron and Steel Federation said.
Crude steel output, which is not seasonally adjusted, dropped to 7.1 million tonnes in July. Output increased 1.1% from June.
Production in the world's third-biggest steelmaking country has been on a downtrend as demand remained sluggish due to surging material prices, labour shortages in the construction sector and slow automobiles output due to a series of scandals, an analyst at the federation said.
"Exports demand was also weak as overseas steel market has been under pressure due to increased steel exports from China," the analyst added.
Japanese automobile production has been hit by a series of scandals at Toyota Motor's 7203.T group firms over botched product certification test procedures that are undermining its reputation for safety and quality.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry forecast in early July that Japan's crude steel output will fall 0.2% in the July-September quarter from a year earlier due to weak demand in the construction and manufacturing sectors.
Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta
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