In January-July 2024, China’s steel exports rose 21.8% year-on-year to 61.23 million tonnes, according to the China Steel Manufacturers Association (CISA).
Steel imports from January-July 2024 decreased 6.7% year-on-year to 4.12 million tonnes. Iron ore imports were 713.77 million tonnes, up 6.7% year-on-year.
In July, China’s steel exports were 7.83 million tonnes, down 10.5% month-on-month. The average export price stood at $790.1 per tonne (+2.3% month-on-month). Steel imports fell 12.2% m/m in July to 505,000 tonnes. The average import price was $1.76K (+9.6% m/m)
China’s iron ore imports last month were 102.81Mt, up 5.3% from June. The average import price was $105.7/t (-1.5% m/m).
According to BigMint, China’s indirect steel exports are expected to grow 9% y/y to 127Mt in 2024, up from 116Mt in 2023 (+3% y/y). Supporting factors include rising automobile exports, shipbuilding growth, energy transition, and equipment demand from the Russian Federation.
In 2023, China’s steel product exports increased by 36.2% compared to 2022 – to 90.3 million tons. Steel imports to China were 7.64 million tons, down 27.6% year-on-year. Raw material imports for the year increased by 6.6% compared to 2022 – to 1.179 billion tons. In 2023, China produced 1.019 billion tons of steel, up 0.6% from 2022. The downward trend of the country’s steel industry has stopped after two consecutive years of declining production.
