BEIJING — China's crude steel production declined last month, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

In July, the country's crude steel output was 86.79 million metric tons, down 8.4 percent year-on-year, the data shows.

In the first seven months of the year, the crude steel output expanded 8 percent year-on-year to 648.33 million tons.

China produced 111 million tons of rolled steel in July, down 6.6 percent year-on-year.

In the January-July period, the rolled steel output came in at 809.02 million tons, up 10.5 percent from a year ago, according to the NBS.

In recent years, China has taken solid steps to cut overcapacity, particularly in the energy-consuming steel sector.

During the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), China met the target of reducing its steel output by 150 million tons ahead of schedule.