In July of the current year, total crude steel output in China amounted to 61.69 million mt, up 4.2 percent year on year but down 2.5 percent month on month, according to the statistics released by China's National Bureau of Statistics. In the January-July period of the current year, total crude steel output in China amounted to 419.46 million mt, up 2.1 percent year on year.
In July, outputs of finished steel, metallurgical coke and ferroalloys in China indicated increases of 6.5 percent, 1.2 percent and 8.8 percent respectively, all on year-on-year basis. Also in July, China's finished steel export volume and finished steel import volume were 4.32 million mt and 1.16 million mt, down 900,000 mt and up 60,000 mt respectively, as compared to June. Meanwhile, in the given month China exported 110,000 mt of coke, down 40,000 mt month on month.
In July this year, the average sales prices of 6.5 mm diameter high speed wire rod, 20 mm thick steel plate and 1.0 mm thick cold rolled coil (CRC) stood at RMB 3,946/mt ($622/mt), RMB 3,961/mt ($625/mt) and RMB 4,768/mt ($752/mt), down 4.8 percent, 4.8 percent and 3.4 percent respectively, all month on month.
Meanwhile, in the first seven months the outputs of finished steel, coke and ferroalloys in China amounted to 548.96 million mt, 261.53 million mt and 17.19 million mt, up 6.1 percent, 5.8 percent and nine percent respectively, all on year-on-year basis.,
In the first seven months of this year, China imported 220,000 mt of semi-finished steel, 8.11 million mt of finished steel and 423.75 million mt of iron ore, down 30.6 percent, declining by 12.5 percent and up 9.1 percent respectively, all year on year. In the given period, China exported 31.55 million mt of finished steel and 690,000 mt of coke, up 9.7 percent and down 73.6 percent, both on year-on-year basis.