China’s flat steel exports totalled 22.2 million tonnes over January-August, down 16.4% on year, according to the latest statistics from China’s General Administration of Statistics (GACC) published on September 23. Over the months while COVID-19 was raging abroad, Chinese steel mills were more focused on selling domestically when global steel demand was still on the track of recovery.
In August alone, the year-on-year drop in flat steel exports was steeper, plunging by 31.7% on year to 2.1 million tonnes, GACC’s data showed. In June, China’s domestic steel demand, especially that of flat steel, remained firm, thanks to rebound in demand from the auto and white goods industries. Most steel products shipped in August were for orders placed in June, Mysteel Global understands.
In comparison, although steel demand elsewhere in the world had also been improving since May or June, with major global steel players restarting their economies, the level of recovery was still low and the price gap between Chinese steel products and those of other exporters remained in June.
Over June 6-12, for example, China’s steel mills were unwilling to sell their SS400 hot coil for less than $438/t FOB. The price was equivalent to about $455/t CFR Vietnam, higher than offers from mills in other countries of around $445/t CFR Vietnam, as Mysteel Global reported.
As for steel bars, August export volumes declined 29.2% on year to 460,000 tonnes and over the first eight months, the tonnage totalled 4.87 million tonnes, down by a notable 33.9% on year.
Compared with prices of flat steel, the price competitiveness of Chinese steel bars in the global market was even lower. Chinese mills were busy fulfilling demand from domestic construction projects, with some steelmakers and traders completely giving up offering export prices.
During the same week of June 6-12, a steel mill from East China’s Jiangsu offered rebar at $465/t CFR Hong Kong, an exporter in Hong Kong disclosed, which was $35/t higher than Indian supplies of matching quality.
Over January-August, China’s sales of section steel to the overseas markets reached 1.9 million tonnes, down 14.9% on year. But the export volumes of wire rod increased by 2.8% on year over the period to 1.3 million tonnes, according to GACC.
This article has been published under an article exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and SteelMint.
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