Posted on 10 Jun 2022
China's total steel exports decreased at a slower pace of 16.2% on year to 25.92 million tonnes over January-May, as against the on-year fall of 29.2% for the first four months of this year, according to the latest data released by China's General Administration of Customs (GACC) on June 9.
The slower decrease was mainly attributed to the better performance of Chinese shippers in May, which saw the country's steel export volume reaching 7.76 million tonnes, surging by 2.78 million tonnes or 55.9% from that for April, the data showed.
The significant on-month rise in steel exports last month had been expected, as many Chinese mills and traders said that their new orders from overseas buyers had increased substantially in March. This was due to the impact of the geopolitical tension between Russia and Ukraine, which fueled market concerns about the decrease in global steel supplies and the increase in energy prices.
Chinese steel shipments for May were mainly to fulfil orders signed in March, a market source said.
Besides, China's steel prices had stayed at a relatively low level in March due to the thin demand from local end-users with the resurgence of COVID-19 in many regions of the country. Chinese export prices were also competitive internationally, which encouraged many overseas buyers to source from Chinese exporters, Mysteel Global learned.
However, steel demand in the global market have retreated since April, and most overseas buyers have adopted a wait-and-see stance after the previous rush of procurement. "Perhaps we won't see such a good performance (in steel exports) repeated in the next few months, given the scarcity of new orders we've received from overseas buyers," a trader in East China's Zhejiang said.
Meanwhile, China imported 806,000 tonnes of steel products last month, down by another 150,000 tonnes or 15.7% from the total for April. For the first five months of this year, total steel imports came in at 4.98 million tonnes, down 18.3% on year, according to the GACC's statistics.
Source:Mysteel Global
