China is net steel importer for second month in a row

China is net steel importer for second month in a row

After breaking a ten-month trend as a net steel exporter in July, China seems to be embarking on a more familiar course as August marked the second consecutive month that the country had been a net steel importer. China exported 1.11 million tons and imported 2.16 million tons of steel products in August. Exports to South Korea accounted for 25.5 percent of China’s total, while the US accounted for 16.3 percent. On the other hand, China imported 24.2 percent of its steel products from Japan. Taiwan was second with 18 percent, followed by South Korea with 17 percent. China’s eastern provinces of Liaoning (194’000 tons), Jiangsu (175’000 tons), Shanghai (170’720 tons), Hebei (118’600 tons) and Beijing (111’700 tons) accounted for 70 percent of China’s total exports. Regarding the imports, China’s southern province of Guangdong (855’000 tons) accounted for 39.5 percent. Jiangsu (314’400 tons), Shanghai (234’000 tons), Beijing (127’700 tons) and Tianjin (103’000 tons) were other major destinations for imports.