In the January-August period this year, China's exports of steel bars totaled 11.93 million mt, up 13.1 percent year on year, 0.8 percentage points faster than the increase recorded in the first seven months, while wire rod exports amounted to 1.84 mt, down 5.8 percent year on year, 0.6 percentage points slower compared to the decline in the first seven months, according to the General Administration of Customs of China (GAAC). At the same time, China's export volumes of angles/channels came to 5.23 million mt in the given period, increasing by 4.0 percent year on year, 0.9 percentage points slower compared to the increase recorded in the January-July period.
In August alone, China's exports of steel bars and wire rod totaled 1.93 million mt and 240,000 mt, up 18.1 percent and down 9.1 percent year on year, while up 0.5 percent and remaining stable month on month, respectively. Also in August, China's exports of angles/channels amounted to 650,000 mt, up 1.4 percent year on year and down 1.5 percent month on month.
In August, China's exports of finished steel rose by 6.8 percent year on year, while exports of steel bars increased much faster, up 18.1 percent year on year, indicating that demand for steel bars, which is largely driven by the construction and infrastructure sectors, continued to see strong momentum, amid the infrastructure projects in emerging economies across Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
Against the backdrop of multiple trade barriers facing flat steel products, including CBAM, antidumping duties and quotas, long products are emerging as the ballast for China's exports, leveraging their price competitiveness in emerging markets and the robust demand from infrastructure construction.
