China's finished steel exports amounted to 20.081 million mt in the January-March period this year, increasing by 53.2 percent year on year, according to the latest data released by China's General Administration of Customs (GACC) on April 13.
In March alone, China’s finished steel exports reached 7.89 million mt, surging by 59.7 percent year on year. Most major mills were interested in exports in the first quarter due to lower-than-expected local demand and higher prices overseas. It is expected that export shipments will remain steady in the second quarter too, given the disappointing month of April in terms of domestic demand. However, the better outlook for May could lead to some slowdown in finished product exports for July-August shipments.
In the January-March quarter, China imported 1.913 million mt of finished steel, down 40.5 percent year on year. The import volume was 682,000 mt in March, down 32.5 percent, year on year.