South Korea imported 3,124,382 mt of steel products in May this year, down 10.2 percent from a year ago but up 1.6 percent from the previous month, according to the Korea Iron & Steel Association (KOSA).
Inbound shipments of steel products from Asian countries totaled 2,430,544 mt in May, a rise of 2.7 percent year on year, accounting for about 80 percent of the country's total imports of steel products during the month. In May, China was the largest foreign supplier of steel products for South Korea, with 1,134,293 mt, down 4.1 percent year on year.
Imports of steel products from North America plunged 35.5 percent year on year to 312,429 mt in May.
Aggregate steel product imports into South Korean in the January-May period amounted to 14,925,618 mt, down 5.4 percent from the same period in 2011.
In May, South Korea's exports of steel products reached 2,803,308 mt, up 16.8 percent year on year. Outbound shipments to Asian countries rose by 17.7 percent year on year to 2,024,746 mt, accounting for 72 percent of total steel product exports for the month. Overseas shipments bound for North America increased by 14.4 percent year on year to 358,974 mt. In May, South Korea sold 398,788 mt of steel products to China, up 5.1 percent, and 36,249 mt to Japan, down 3.6 percent, both year on year.
Accumulated exports of steel products from South Korea in the first five months this year reached 13,600,342 mt, up 15.1 percent year on year.