Chinese steel makers reported a combined loss of 3.3 billion yuan for the first quarter of 2009 as oversupply put pressure on product prices, the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) said.

The loss is in sharp contrast to the 47.16 billion yuan in profits the industry made during the same period last year. The losses in March alone stood at 1.79 billion yuan, exceeding the first two months' total losses of 1.51 billion yuan, CISA Vice-President Luo Bingsheng said.

Luo attributed the losses to increased steel output in the first quarter. He said the oversupply had driven steel prices below the 1994 level.