In the January-June period this year, China’s exports of steel bars totaled 5.52 million mt, up 57.2 percent year on year, while its wire rod exports amounted to 1.19 million mt, rising by 18.5 percent year on year, according to the Chinese customs authorities. At the same time, China’s export volumes of angles/channels came to 2.43 million mt in the given period, up 46.4 percent year on year.
In June alone, China’s export of steel bars amounted to 0.95 million mt, up 6.0 percent year on year and down 8.65 percent month on month, while its exports of wire rod and angles/channels amounted to 210,000 mt and 410,000 mt, up 1.2 percent and down 3.7 percent year on year, respectively, though decreasing by 8.7 percent and 10.7 percent month on month.
The demand for steel bars has been slack in Southeast Asia in the traditional hot summer offseason, negatively affecting China’s exports in June.