In July this year, China exported 5.57 million mt of finished steel, up 4.9 percent compared to the previous month, as announced by the Chinese customs authorities on August 8. Though the number was still 5.4 percent lower than in July 2018, the growth month on month signals that the export market has become more important for Chinese producers. In Q2, overseas sales were gradually decreasing.
It is likely that steel exports from China will keep rising in August-September due to the acceleration of the trade war following the US announcement that it will put 10 percent tariffs on another $300 billion worth of Chinese goods starting from September 1. The Chinese currency has been falling last Friday. The mid-point of the RMB touched 7.0039 to the US dollar, while the selling rate weakened to 7.0616 and the government is unlikely to control the exchange rate in the near future, which will bring more help to steel exporters in China.
This week, market participants in Southeast Asia have already started to receive more competitive offers for Chinese origin steel products. Vietnamese buyers said that offers for Chinese HRC from traders were coming in line with prices from India - at $495-500/mt CFR, SteelOrbis has been informed.
In the January-July period, China exported 39.969 million mt of finished steel, down 2.9 percent year on year. But most market sources doubt that China will post a decline in export volumes for the full year.