BEIJING — China's crude steel output rose 9.3 percent year-on-year in August, faster growth than the 5-percent increase recorded in July, official data showed.

Crude steel output reached 87.25 million tons in August, bringing the total output in the first eight months of 2019 to 664.87 million tons, up 9.1 percent year-on-year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

China is the world's largest crude steel producer. Last year, its output stood at 928.26 million tons, up 6.6 percent year-on-year.

In August, China's crude iron output gained 7.1 percent year-on-year to 71.17 million tons, the NBS data showed.

During the month, rolled steel output in the country climbed 9.8 percent year-on-year to 106.39 million tons, according to the data.