China’s steel exports, and iron ore and coal imports all showed a positive trend in the first half (January-June) of calendar 2024 (H1CY’24), reveals data from the General Administration of Customs. Steel exports, a key component of the Chinese steel industry, showed a 24% y-o-y increase in this period to around 53 million tonnes (mnt) against 43 mnt seen in the same period in 2023. June volumes, however, were down 9% m-o-m.After slowing down over January-May, the exports growth momentum again picked up slightly over January-June. Volumes still remained significant because, real estate, which consumers 60% of steel demand, still has not recovered substantially. Over January-May, real estate development investment fell and new housing construction area fell 10% and 24% respectively. New commercial housing sales area dropped 20%, and sales by 28%.
Leave a Reply