Output of crude steel in September fell 0.4 pct from a year earlier to 9.17 mln tons, its third consecutive month of decline, the Japan Iron and Steel Federation said. Month-on-month, crude steel output dropped 0.7 pct, it said. Crude steel production of blast furnace operators rose 2.5 pct from the previous year to 6.86 mln tons in September, the seventh straight monthly increase, while output at electric furnace operators dropped 8.2 pct to 2.31 mln tons, marking the eighth straight month of declines. From January to September, crude steel production reached 84.56 mln tons, up 0.7 pct over the corresponding period in the previous year.