Posted on 11 Sep 2024
China's steel exports leaped by 20.6% on year to reach 70.58 million tonnes over January-August, according to the latest data released by China's General Administration of Customs (GACC) on September 10.
For August alone, the country's steel exports climbed by 14.7% on year to around 9.5 million tonnes, Mysteel Global calculated based on the Customs data.
China's steel shipments abroad during August were mainly fulfilling orders signed about two months earlier in June, Mysteel Global noted.
In June, lower-priced Chinese steel products continued to help mills and traders win export business in international steel markets.
For example, as of June 28, the export price of SS400 3.00mm hot-rolled coil from North China's Tianjin port was assessed by Mysteel at $525/t FOB, lower by $25/t from Japan-origin offers posted the same day, according to Mysteel's tracking.
Also in June, China's domestic steel market was constrained by high temperatures and frequent heavy rains in most regions of the country, with steel demand being impacted. Yet at the same time, crude steel output increased slightly, and it was this supply-demand mismatch in the home steel market that led steelmakers and traders to seek out overseas trading opportunities, sources said.
Data from China's National Bureau of Statistics showed that the country's crude steel output in June rose by 0.2% on year to reach 91.6 million tonnes.
On the other hand, during June the daily trading volume of construction steel comprising rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil among the 237 traders nationwide under Mysteel's regular survey averaged 119,412 tonnes/day, plunging by 22.9% from that for June 2023.
During this year's first eight months meanwhile, China also imported 4.63 million tonnes of steel products, decreasing by 8.4% on year, according to the GACC's data.
Source:Mysteel Global
