In October this year, China’s finished steel exports totaled 4.84 million mt, down 310,000 mt or 0.6 percent compared to September this year but up 26.7 percent year on year, according to the figures released by China’s General Administration of Customs. Meanwhile, the country imported 1.03 million mt of finished steel in the given month, down 170,000 mt or 14.2 percent month on month. China also imported 20,000 mt of semi-finished steel in October.
In the January-October period of this year, China’s finished steel exports totaled 45.78 million mt, up 11.8 percent year on year. Meanwhile, the country imported 11.55 million mt of finished steel and 290,000 mt of semi-finished steel in the given period, down 12.2 percent and 39.9 percent respectively, both on year-on-year basis.
Furthermore, in the first 10 months of this year China’s imports of iron ore totaled 607 million mt, up 8.9 percent year on year, while the country imported 56.43 million mt of iron ore in October alone, down 13.2 percent month on month but up 12.99 percent year on year.
Meanwhile, the average import price of iron ore in October stood at $104.9/mt, down 9.5 percent month on month and 40.2 percent year on year. The average import price of iron ore in the first 10 months of this year was $132.3/mt, down 20.6 percent year on year.