The export volumes of steel products from South Korea remained almost stable (+0.4%) to 2.33 million tonnes (mn t) in Nov’21 as against 2.32 mn t a month back. However, on an annual basis, the same fell by 6.4%.
Cumulative exports in Jan-Nov’21 were 26.28 mn t, down 5.3% from 27.74 mn t in the same period last year.
Most of the exports in the month under review were made to the USMCA countries whereas exports to Vietnam resumed since November.
Commodity wise exports:
- Exports of long products stood at around 2,01,526 tonnes (t) in Nov’21, down by 9.5% from 2,22,796 t a month ago and 1.7% against the corresponding period last year (CPLY). In November, exports of section steel and steel bars stood around 64,205 t and 54,345 t respectively. Rebar accounted for a mere 2,273 t in the month under review.
- Among flat products, plate material products were largely unchanged m-o-m at 1.69 mn t in Nov’21 but declined by 9.7% on an annual basis. Export volumes in this month for heavy plates stood at 2,01,354 t, hot-rolled (HR) sheets at 57,917 t and cold-rolled (CR) sheets at 3,68,814 t.
Imports
The country’s imports of steel accounted for 1.67 mn t in Nov’21, down by 6.2% on the month from 1.78 mn t in Oct’21. On the other hand, it increased by 18.4% against 1.41 t in Nov’20.
Cumulative imports in Jan-Nov’21 stood around 20.09 mn t, up 15.6% compared with 17.38 mn t in CPLY.
Commodity wise imports:
- Import volumes of long products were up by a marginal 1% m-o-m at 2,96,048 t in Nov’21, while it increased by a significant 43.4% on the year. Import volumes of section steel were at 56,713 t, steel bars at 51,132 t, rebar at 83,356 t and wire rods at 101,645 t in Nov’21.
- In flat products, imports of plates stood at 5,55,791 t in Nov’21, down by 12.1% m-o-m. However, the same increased by 12.5% on the year. In Nov’21, imports f heavy plates stood at 1,56,626 t, HR sheets at 2,56,503 t, CR sheets at 33,420 t, galvanised sheets at 70,000 t and colour steel sheets at 23,723 t. Meanwhile, imports of steel pipes during the month were at 41,634 t.
Near-term outlook:
It is likely that the country’s export and import volumes shall remain in a similar range in Dec’21. The sporadic spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19, the ongoing Christmas and New Year holidays and the winter season in Northeast Asia shall weigh on the trade momentum in Dec’21.
~ Inputs from Steel Daily
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