According to the latest figures issued by China's General Administration of Customs, in May China's exports of finished steel continued to rise, reaching nearly 5 million mt, while the imports of finished steel continued to decline. Meanwhile, the import volume of iron ore has declined for consecutively two months.
In May, China exported 4.94 million of finished steel, increasing by 630,000 mt month on month and up by 265.93 percent year on year. In the first five months this year, China exported a total of 17.96 million mt of finished steel, up 132.7 percent year on year.
In May, China imported 1.36 million of finished steel, down by 140,000 mt month on month and down 17.58 percent year on year. During the January-May period, China imported 6.97 million mt of finished steel, up 7.2 percent year on year.
Meanwhile, China exported 40,000 mt of semis in May, compared with only 900 mt in April, with the volume totaling 50,000 mt for the first five months of 2010. In May, China imported 20,000 mt of semis, down 40,000 mt month on month.
In May, China exported 470,000 mt of coke, up 230,000 mt year on year. During the first five months, China exported 840,000 mt of coke, up 325.3 percent compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.
In the month in question, China imported 51.90 million mt of iron ore, down 3.43 million mt month on month and down 2.92 percent year on year. During the January-May period, China imported a total of 262.17 million mt of iron ore, up 8.4 percent year on year.