Japan’s steel exports down 5.8 percent in Oct from Sept

According to the customs statistics released by the Japanese Ministry of Finance, Japan's iron and steel product exports in October this year amounted to 3.36 million metric tons, decreasing by 1.2 percent compared to the same month of 2011 and down by 5.8 percent month on month, while Japan's steel imports totaled 764,736 metric tons, with a month-on-month increase of 20.5 percent and a year-on-year decrease of 6.7 percent. In October, Japanese steel product exports recorded the first year-on-year decrease after five consecutive months of year-on-year increase.

In the first 10 months of the year, Japan's iron and steel product exports amounted to 35.1 million mt, almost stable, while the country's iron and steel product imports decreased by 1.3 percent to 6.7 million mt, both compared to the first 10 months of the previous year.

Regarding Japan's major steel export markets, in October the country's steel exports to South Korea totaled 566,284 mt, down 19 percent, while steel exports to China decreased by three percent to 486,299 metric tons; the export volume to Taiwan amounted to 309,644 metric tons, up three percent; exports to Thailand totaled 505,066 metric tons, down four percent; while exports to the US decreased to 153,075 metric tons, down by 41 percent, all compared to the previous month.

In October, Japan imported 404,059 metric tons of steel from South Korea, up 20.8 percent, it imported 136,526 metric tons from China, up by 24.8 percent, while imports from Taiwan rose to 93,827 metric tons, increasing by 11.3 percent, all compared to the previous month.