China still led the fast growth of steel output in September compared with other producers in the world, according to figures released by World Steel Association on Monday.

China’s crude steel production for September was 65.4 million metric tons, up by 11 percent year-on-year.

The US produced 7.2 million tons of crude steel in September, up 6.3 percent year-on-year.

Elsewhere in Asia, Japan produced 9.3 million tons of crude steel in September, an increase of 5.5 percent over September 2012.

South Korea’s crude steel production was 5.2 million tons in September, down by 8.7 percent year-on-year.

The world crude steel production for the 65 countries reporting to the association was 133 million tons in September, an increase of 6.1 percent year-on-year.

For the first three quarters, the world crude steel production was 1,186 million tons, an increase of 2.7 percent year-on-year.

Asia produced 795.1 million tons of crude steel in the first three quarters, an increase of 5.9 percent compared to the same period of 2012.

The EU produced 123.8 million tons in the first nine months of 2013, a decrease of 4.2 percent compared to the same months in 2012.