According to a press release issued by the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) on July 28, finished steel prices in the Chinese domestic market have indicated an overall declining trend since 2014, with the downward movement gaining momentum in 2015. In 2014, the composite steel price index (CSPI) in China decreased from 99.14 points at the beginning of the year to 83.09 points by the end of year, falling by 16.2 percent. In 2015, the CSPI decreased from 83.09 points at the start of the year to 66.69 points by the end of June, declining by 19.7 percent, decreasing by a larger margin compared to the whole of 2014.
In the first half of the current year, Chinese steelmakers have increased their export activities as international steel prices have declined at a slower rate compared to Chinese domestic prices, with Chinese finished steel exports rising by 27.8 percent year on year in the given period, with the overall export value up 0.06 percent year on year. Meanwhile, in the first half of the current year, the average Chinese finished steel export price decreased by $172/mt year on year, with China’s large volumes and low prices of finished steel products resulting in an increase in trade investigations in other countries against Chinese products. In total, eight such investigations were started against Chinese finished steel products in the first half of this year.