Pyongyang, August 24 (KCNA) -- Crude steel production in July dropped 1.2 percent from a year earlier, the fifth straight month of decline, the Japan Iron and Steel Federation quoted the survey data as saying on August 9.

In the 27-nation EU, production in construction sector also fell by 1.3 percent in June, compared with the previous month, and by 8.1 percent over a year ago, the European Union (EU)'s statistics bureau Eurostat said on Thursday.