In May this year, China exported 7.759 million mt of finished steel, up 47.2 percent year on year, while rising by 55.9 percent month on month, as announced by the Chinese customs authorities on June 9. This sharp increase was due to lively sales in March and early April, when the local market was weak and mills were interested in export sales for shipment in May.
In the first five months of the current year, China exported 25.915 million mt of finished steel, down 16.2 percent year on year.
At the same time, steel imports continued to decline. In May alone, China imported 806,000 mt of finished steel, down 33.4 percent year on year, while declining by 15.7 percent month on month. In the January-May period this year, China imported 4.98 million mt of finished steel, down 8.3 percent year on year.
