South Korean steel plate exports drop in October from September levels

In October this year, South Korea's steel plate export activity indicated increased sluggishness as compared to the preceding month.
 
According to data recently released from the Korea Iron & Steel Association (KOSA), in October South Korea exported 276,092 mt of steel plates, while it imported 365,612 mt of the same product.
 
Inbound shipments of steel plates in October were up 0.4 percent year on year and indicated a rise of 15.3 percent from a month earlier, while outbound shipments of steel plate were up 12.6 percent from a year ago but were down 8.7 percent from September.
 
As the major reason for the drop in overseas sales of South Korean steel plates in October, analysts cited weak demand for the products in Southeast Asia and Europe more than anything else. Economic recession has become more visible in Southeast Asia, Europe and the US, and thus South Korean steel plate producers' efforts to increase exports in an attempt to make up for a drop in domestic sales were not successful.