China's steel industry has entered a phase of slow growth, said a forecast released by the China Metallurgical Industry Planning and Research Institute (CMIPRI) Tuesday, which predicted that both demand and output in the sector will see a growth rate under 4.5 percent in 2013.

The report said that China's total demand for steel products would reach 666 million tons in 2013, up 4.1 percent compared with 2012. But production in 2013 will top 746 million tons, far exceeding demand, said the institute.

An official at the China Iron and Steel Association said earlier this month that major domestic steel makers, which reported combined losses of over 5.5 billion yuan ($883 million) in the first quarters, may stop incurring losses in the fourth quarter as steel prices have rebounded somewhat since September.

"Steel prices are likely to show a moderate increase next year, but not by very much," Li Xinchuang, president of the CMIPRI, told the Global Times at a press conference in Beijing Tuesday.

"We predict that growth in the sector will remain at a low level of 4 to 5 percent in the next few years, and it may stay there for a very long time," Wang Guoqing, research director at the Beijing Lange Steel Information Research Center, told the Global Times Tuesday.

Statistics from Lange showed that growth in the sector has been declining since 2009, when the sector saw fast growth of 13.5 percent.

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