In May this year, China imported 1.206 million mt of finished steel, down 5.8 percent year on year, though imports rose slightly by 2.7 percent month on month, as announced by the Chinese customs authorities on June 7.
Finished steel imports have been showing some slowdown in China recently, but semis-finished steel import purchases have remained strong.
In the January-May period this year, China imported 6.097 million mt of finished steel, up 11.6 percent year on year, with a growth 5.3 percentage points slower than that recorded in the first four months of the current year.