Steel production in the Middle East rose by 7.2 per cent in February as increased production in Iran offset a drop in output from Qatar and the UAE.

Middle East output in February 2015 reached 2.34 million tonnes compared with 2.16 million tonnes in the same month last year, according to the World Steel Association (Worldsteel).

Iranian steel production rose 11.8 per cent to 1.41 million tonnes, while Saudi output was also up, growing 4.2 per cent to 509,000 tonnes.

Meanwhile, Qatar’s output dropped by nearly 1 per cent to 209,000 tonnes and the UAE saw a 4.3 per cent fall to 216,000 tonnes.

In North Africa, Libyan and Moroccan production collapsed year-on-year, by 41.2 per cent and 74.5 per cent respectively. However, Algeria boosted crude steel production by 16.7 per cent and Egyptian output rose 5.6 per cent, overtaking South Africa as the continent’s largest steel producer.

Rising production in China help boost global output in February by 0.6 per cent year on year to 127.6 million tonnes in February, Worldsteel reported.