In July this year, China imported 2.606 million mt of finished steel, rising significantly compared to steel imports of 842,000 mt in July last year, while increasing by 38.8 percent month on month, as announced by the Chinese customs authorities on August 7. Buyers in China have been willing to conclude purchases for imported finished steel amid the firm trend in the local market. The figure does not include imports of semis (which amounted to 2.48 million mt in June) and raw materials like pig iron, while these products were also in demand. China is expected to remain a net steel importer in the coming months.
China imported 9.948 million mt of finished steel in the January-July period of the current year, increasing by 49.3 percent year on year, 23.2 percentage points bigger than the increase recorded in the first six months this year.
In July, China exported 4.176 million mt of finished steel, decreasing by 25 percent year on year and up 12.8 percent month on month.
In the January-July period of the year, China exported 32.88 million mt of finished steel, down 17.6 percent year on year, while the year-on-year decline was 1.1 percentage points higher compared to that recorded in the January-June period this year.