POSCO, South Korea's biggest steelmaker, became the world's fifth-largest crude steel producer in 2012, dropping by one notch from a year ago, data showed Saturday.

According to data by World Steel Association (WSA), India's ArcelorMittal retained its top ranking with 93.6 million tons of crude steel, followed by Japan's Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. with 47.9 million tons.

POSOCO's crude steel production came to 39.9 million tons last year, down from 39.1 million tons in 2011, it said.

POSCO's drop in ranking stemmed from a merger between Nippon Steel Corp. and Sumitomo Metal Corp in October 2012. The merged entity was renamed Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal. The merger boosted Nippon Steel' ranking in crude steel output to second from sixth, causing POSCO's ranking to drop by one notch.

Hyundai Steel Co., South Korea's No.2 steelmaker rose four notches to 16th in 2012 with 17.1 million tons, up from 16.3 million tons in 2011.

(Yonhap News)