In November, China exported 2.8 million mt of steel sheet/plate, up 4.6 percent year on year, up 14.75 percent month on month. Higher interest of foreign customers in Chinese flat steel products was supported by surging prices from other suppliers and tight supply.
In November, ex-China HRC export prices moved on an overall uptrend, reaching the highest level of $580/mt FOB on November 30 amid the surging HRC futures prices, support from high levels of iron ore prices and decent demand from local and foreign customers. The export of steel sheet/plate shifted from the yearly decline of 15.1 percent in October to the rise of 4.6 percent in November this year.
China’s steel sheet/plate exports totaled 29.7 million mt in the January-November period of the current year, down 17.0 percent year on year, according to the Chinese customs authorities. Its decreasing pace was 1.7 percentage points slower in the first eleven months of the year compared to the year-on-year decline of 18.7 recorded in the first ten months this year.