Posted on 25 Oct 2022
China's steel exports decreased on year over the first nine months of this year, with the total volume reaching 51.2 million tonnes, down 3.4% from the same period last year, according to the latest data released by China's General Administration of Customs (GACC) on October 24.
For September alone, China's steel exports came in at 4.98 million tonnes, sliding by 1.17 million tonnes or 19% from the previous month, the Customs data showed.
The significant on-month fall in shipments of Chinese steel abroad was in line with market expectations, as steel demand from overseas buyers is predicted to remain sluggish in this half of the year, with inflation rising in many countries and the United States adopting a tight monetary policy, Mysteel Global noted.
"Many overseas buyers were not active in importing steel products from China given the thin demand from local end-users," a market source in East China's Zhejiang said, adding that the U.S. has continued to raise its benchmark interest rates this year. This also had a negative impact on global steel demand as some overseas buyers did not have enough money at hand, she added.
Besides, Chinese steel exports also faced some challenges from the lower offering prices being presented by exporters in other countries and regions. "The competitive prices from Russian exporters encouraged some overseas buyers to conclude deals with them," the market source said.
Chinese steel shipments for September were mainly to fulfil orders signed two months earlier, Mysteel Global learned.
The country's steel export volume is expected to stay low in the coming term as demand in overseas markets has not shown any significant signs of recovery so far, the market source predicted.
Chinese steel export prices weakened further this month due to the depressed demand, with that of China-origin SS400 4.75mm hot-rolled coil slipping to $543/tonne FOB from North China's Tianjin port, losing $17/t compared with the end of September, according to Mysteel's survey.
For September, China imported 891,000 tonnes of steel products, down 2,000 tonnes or 0.2% on month. For the first three quarters of this year, total steel imports came in at 8.34 million tonnes, lower by 22.1% from the same period last year, according to the GACC's statistics.
Source:Mysteel Global
