According to the customs authorities in the city of Qingdao in China Shandong Province, the Chinese tax rebate cancellation policy is showing its effect, with the province's finished steel export volume dropping by 30 percent month on month in July.
In the first seven months of the current, Shandong exported 2.184 million mt of finished steel, 2.5 times the volume in the same period last year, equal to $1.75 billion in value, double the value in the same period last year. In July the finished steel export volume dropped massively to 0.289 million mt, down 30.3 percent from the June volume, but up 2.5 times the figure for July last year.
The Qingdao customs authorities stated that the higher raw material costs have increased the risk factor for steelmakers. Steel prices are fluctuating at low levels, despite the rebound in July, and steel production is being limited in many cases, they added.