BEIJING - China's apparent consumption of crude steel is likely to reach 596 million tons this year, a year-on-year increase of 5.6 percent, according to a steel association official.

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Apparent consumption represents the sum of net imports and output, and can be used to estimate real consumption excluding inventory.

Luo Bingsheng, deputy head of the China Iron and Steel Association, expected the country's crude steel output to climb 8.2 percent this year from one year earlier, to reach 624 million tons.

Luo further noted that a rising investment in 2011 would result in an increase in China's steel demand.

If the year-on-year growth of the country's social fixed assets investment maintained itself at around 20 percent next year, China's crude steel apparent consumption would see an annual increase of 40 million to 50 million tons next year, said Luo.