Posted on 08 Aug 2024
China's steel exports jumped by 21.8% on year to total 61.23 million tonnes during the first seven months of this year, according to the latest data released by China's General Administration of Customs (GACC) on August 7.
For July alone, the country's steel exports also rose by 7.1% on year to 7.83 million tonnes, Mysteel Global calculated based on the Customs data.
China's steel shipments abroad during July were mainly fulfilling orders booked about two months earlier in May, Mysteel Global noted.
Back then, Chinese steel products still enjoyed price advantages in international steel markets which helped secure overseas trade opportunities for steel mills.
For example, as of May 31, the export price of SS400 3.00mm hot-rolled coil from North China's Tianjin port was assessed by Mysteel at $540/t FOB, lower by $20/t from Japan-origin offers posted the same day, according to Mysteel's tracking.
In parallel, higher crude steel output and slower steel consumption in the domestic market at that time also led steelmakers to target overseas business to help reduce their steel stockpiles.
Two months ago as well, some Chinese mills had resumed operations or ramped up steelmaking as their profitability had improved with the recovery in finished steel prices. During May alone, China produced 92.9 million tonnes of crude steel, higher by 2.7% from the same period last year, data from the country's National Bureau of Statistics showed.
However, domestic steel demand slowed to some extent that month due to the frequent rainfalls in southern China. During May, the daily trading volume of construction steel comprising rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil among the 237 traders under Mysteel's regular survey dropped by 15.2% on year to average 132,811 tonnes/day.
In the first seven months, China also imported 4.12 million tonnes of steel products, down by 6.7% from the same period last year, according to the GACC's data.
Source:Mysteel Global
