In June this year, China’s semi-finished steel exports totaled 1.1757 million mt, down 14.33 percent month on month, while still up 280.19 percent year on year, according to China’s customs authorities. Though total semis exports posted some decline from May, market sources do not see this as a trend as the total monthly volume was still over 1 million mt, which is much more than in previous years after 2015.
In the January-June period this year, China’s semi-finished steel exports amounted to 5.8922 million mt, up 300.31 percent year on year.
There are expectations in the market that semis exports from China will post a gradual decline in the second half partially due to higher prices and some production cuts confirmed at least for July and August. Nevertheless, “we still foresee China’s billet exports being active this year as most capacity curbs are awaited from 2026,” a representative of one of the major Chinese trading companies commented to SteelOrbis.
China’s semis imports improved significantly in June, reaching 154,600 mt, up 400.67 percent month on month, while up 37.58 percent year on year. Despite strong June imports, the total tonnage for the first half was still much less than the same period last year due to relatively low prices in China. H1 imports totaled 515,700 mt, decreasing by 57.77 percent compared to H1 2024.