South Korean producers' sales of rebars were brisk in the first half of the current year, especially in their domestic market, according to a survey carried out by Korea Metal Journal.
Major South Korean rebar producers sold 4,452,000 mt of rebar in the first six months of this year, up 12.2 percent year on year. Of the total figure, domestic sales reached 4,227,000 mt, up 15.7 percent, while overseas sales were just 175,000 mt, down 35.9 percent, both year on year.
In June alone, the South Korean producers' rebar sales totaled 789,000 mt, up 7.6 percent year on year but down 7.1 percent from a month earlier.
Together with the overall rise in sales, the South Korean mills' production of rebar in the first half of the year increased 7.9 percent year on year to 4,443,000 mt. Rebar production in June alone totaled 729,000 mt, up 4.7 percent year on year but down 4.2 percent month on month.
In order to meet strong demand for rebar in the domestic market, South Korean producers concentrated on domestic sales rather than overseas sales in the January-June period. In the first half of the year, sales and production of rebars hit monthly highs in May, but then declined in June, affected by seasonal factors and a truckers' strike.