Posted on 15 Oct 2024
China's steel exports totalled 80.71 million tonnes during this year's January-September period, higher by 21.2% on year, according to the latest data released by China's General Administration of Customs (GACC) on October 14.
For September alone, the country's steel exports soared by 25.9% on year to 10.15 million tonnes, Mysteel Global calculated based on the Customs data.
The shipments of Chinese steel products abroad in September were mainly fulfilling orders signed about two months earlier, Mysteel Global notes.
Behind the elevated export volume last month was the fact that Chinese steel products had maintained their long-enjoyed price advantages in the international markets during July, trading sources said.
In fact, the price advantages Chinese steel had enjoyed had expanded further in July, when China's domestic steel market entered a slow consumption month in summer. The market environment became even more dull after the central government had announced new regulations relating to rebar performance.
In late June, the government had issued new rebar standards that were to effect in late September, leaving a three-month buffer period for steelmakers and traders to clear their stockpiles of rebars conforming to existing specifications, as reported.
With their generally large stocks of rebar and with demand from China's languishing construction sector remaining weak, mills and traders had rushed to sell off their rebars at lower prices, a strategy which not only dragged prices of rebar to multi-year lows but also those of other steel products in tandem.
Against this backdrop, the price spread between China-origin steel products and those of other countries had expanded, helping Chinese mills and traders to win more business abroad, Mysteel Global notes
For example, as of July 31, China's export price of SS400 3.00mm hot-rolled coil (HRC) was assessed by Mysteel at $487/t FOB, lower by $53/t from Japan-origin offers posted the same day, according to Mysteel's tracking.
During this year's first nine months, China also imported around 5.19 million tonnes of steel products, declining by 9% on year, according to the GACC data.
Source:Mysteel Global
