Record September exports from China
sourcesteeltimesint.com
time2015/11/14
China’s steel exports during the month of September reached a record high while prices were at their lowest, claims China’s Economic Information Centre, part of the Xinhua News Agency.
China exported 11.26Mt of steel in September, up 15.5% from August and an increase of 32% on the same month last year.
Between January and September of 2015 China exported 83.2Mt of steel, up 27% year-on-year.
China imported 1Mt of steel in September, down 1.2% from August and down 25.8% when compared to the same period last year. Between January and September, China imported 9.7Mt of steel, down 11.6% on the year.
The average steel export price was US$507/tonne in September, down US$23/tonne on the month to hit the lowest recorded price this year. The average import price per tonne was US$1,078, down US$16/tonne from August. The price gap between imports and exports surged to an historical high of US$571/tonne in September.
China’s net steel exports in September reached 10.2Mt. Imports of billet and ingot reached 50kt and were converted into a net crude steel export figure of 10.85Mt, up 43% on the year. Between January and September, the foreign trade of steel was converted into a net crude steel export figure of 77.94Mt, up 35.4%.
• Steel bar and wire rod exports from China grew by 58.3% on a year-on-year basis, accounting for 38% of the country’s overall exports during the January to September 2015 period. Steel plate accounted for 43.7% of total exports.
• Exports from China to South East Asia totalled 25.3Mt between January and September. Myanmar, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia imports of Chinese steel was up over 50% year-on-year and accounted for over 30% of Chinese exports over the period.
• China exported 10.1Mt of steel to the Republic of Korea, accounting for 12% of total exports and also exported to nine countries in the Middle East, accounting for just over 9% of total exports.
• Exports to the European Union accounted for 6.7% of total Chinese exports over the January to September period while exports to South American made up 5.1% of total Chinese exports. Other nations receiving a share of Chinese steel exports were 10 major countries in Africa (4.3%) and India (3.9%).