According to the latest Chinese customs data, in January this year China's steel exports amounted to 3.73 million mt, down 10,000 mt as compared to December 2011 but up 19.9 percent from a year ago.
The customs data also show that in the first month of 2012 China's steel imports came to 920,000 mt, declining by 270,000 mt month on month and down 44.1 percent year on year. Meanwhile, in the given month Chinese iron ore imports totaled 59.32 million mt, decreasing by 4.77 million compared to the previous month and down 13.9 percent year on year.