The latest data released by Chinese customs show that national exports of finished steel in May totaled 1.35 million mt, down 75.7 percent year on year and down 60,000 mt month on month. From January to May, China's total exports of finished steel reached 7.9 million mt, down 63.6 percent year on year.
Meanwhile, imports of finished steel for May totaled 1.65 million mt, up 23.6 percent year on year and up 30,000 mt month on month. In the January-May period, imports of finished steel totaled 6.5 million mt, down 7.1 percent year on year. In May, China's net imports of finished steel stood at 300,000 mt.
In May, China's semi-finished imports totaled 700,000 mt, up 30,000 mt month on month. With the exports at zero level, net imports of semi-finished steel for the month stood at 700,000 mt.
Meanwhile, China's coke exports reached 20,000 mt in the month of May, down 98.8 percent year on year. From January to May, total coke exports amounted to 200,000 mt, down 96.6 percent.
China's iron ore imports in May totaled 53.46 million mt, up 37.4 percent year on year, and down 4 million mt month on month. From January to May, iron ore imports came to 241.92 million mt, up 25.7 percent compared with the same period last year.