According to the Chinese customs authorities, China's finished steel product exports and imports in May this year amounted to 5.23 million mt and 1.32 million mt respectively in May. In the January-May period, the aggregate volumes of finished steel exports and imports amounted respectively to 22.04 million mt and 5.85 million mt.
Meanwhile, based on data from China's National Bureau of Statistics, in the first five months of the current year total output of crude steel in China came to 296.26 million mt, including 61.23 million mt produced in May. Accordingly, apparent crude steel consumption in China in January-May totaled 276 million mt.