Japan’s Iron ore and Finish long Steel imports moved up during second quarter of 2019 (CY’19), as per the latest released custom data.
Iron Ore import rise
Japanese Iron ore import registered at 30.46 MnT in Q2 CY’19 rose by 6% Q-o-Q as against 28.71 MnT in Q1 CY’19.
Whereas on monthly premises country’s iron ore import declined around 19.64% to 9.12 MnT in Jun’19 against 11.35 MnT in May’19 and on yearly basis imports plunged by 14.7% as against 10.69 MnT in Jun’18.
Coal import down
Japanese coal imports have fallen by 6% Q-o-Q to 44.84 MnT during the second quarter of CY’19 (Apr-Jun’19) as against 47.79 MnT recorded in Q1 period of CY’19 (Jan-Mar’19).
The gradual declined in coal intake was attributed to the government’s reform intended to shift away from coal-fired generation, which was further supplemented by the ongoing nuclear restarts and low LNG spot prices— encouraging coal-to-gas switching.
Import volume in Q2 CY’19 was also 3% lower on the year from 46.43 MnT recorded in Q2 CY’18 period.
A grade wise break-up of imports taken in Q2 CY’19 indicates that Japan’s intake of non-coking coal had fell 12% Q-o-Q to 29.07 MnT. On the other hand, coking coal sourcing had seen slight uptick on the quarter noted at 10.39 MnT in Q2 CY’19 as against 10 MnT in Q1 CY’19 period.
Finish Flat imports drop
Japan’s Finish Flat Steel imports fell by around 9% in Q2 CY’19 to 1.14 MnT which was 1.25 MnT in Q1 CY’19.
As per WSA (World Steel Association), Japan’s crude steel output increased by 5% to 26.11 MnT in Q2 CY’19 as compared to 24.97 MnT in Q1 CY’19. This increase in output led to a fall in imports during the quarter.
Meanwhile on monthly premises the same dropped by around 8% to 0.35 MnT in Jun’19 which was 0.38 MnT in previous month.
Finish Flat Stainless Steel down
The Country’s finish flat stainless steel imports registered at 0.04 MnT in Q2 CY’19 fell by 20% against 0.05 MnT in Q1 CY’19.
On M-o-M basis, the imports remained stable with 0.01 MnT in Jun’19 against previous month, whereas on yearly basis it declined by 50% when compared with 0.02 MnT in Jun’18.
Finish long steel import rise
Finish long steel imports by Japan rose 5.8% to 0.18 MnT in Q2 CY’19 as against 0.17 MnT in Q1 CY’19.
Whereas on monthly basis the country’s finish long steel imports remain unchanged with 0.06 MnT in Jun’19 against previous month (May’19) and on yearly basis imports rise 20% compared to 0.05 MnT in Jun’18.
Commodity wise – It’s being observed that Rebar import by country dropped 10% to 0.09 MnT in Q2 CY’19 against 0.1 MnT in Q1 CY’19 followed by Structure imports remained stable with 0.03 MnT in Q2 CY’19 against previous quarter.
However, Wire Rod imports surged in Q2 CY’19 by 20% to 0.06 MnT in Q2 CY’19 against 0.05 MnT in Q1 CY’19.
Country wise-South Korea’s export grew during second quarter by 16.6% to 0.07 MnT in Q2 CY’19 against 0.06 MnT in Q1 CY’19 followed by China which exports down by 37.5% to 0.05 MnT in Q2 CY’19 against 0.08 MnT in Q1 CY’19 & Vietnam exports enlarged by 200% to 0.03 MnT in Q2 CY’19 against 0.01 MnT in Q1 CY’19.
Finish long Stainless Steel rise
Japan’s Finish long stainless steel imports rise by 13.5% to 7,009 MT in Q2 CY’19 against 6,176 MT in Q1 CY’19.
However on monthly basis imports declined by 13.8% to 2,147 MT in Jun’19 against 2,491 MT in May’19 and on yearly basis import slightly inched up by 1% compared with 2,122 MT in June’18.
Ferro Alloy imports declined
Japan registered its Ferro alloy imports at 0.57 MnT in Q2 CY’19, down by 3.4% as against 0.59 MnT in Q1 CY’19.
On monthly and yearly basis, the imports declined by 7.7% to 0.12 MnT in Jun’19 against 0.13 MnT of previous month and year i.e May’19 & Jun’18, respectively.
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