In the January-July period of the current year, China’s apparent crude steel consumption declined by 1.9 percent to 404 million mt, while the country’s crude steel output decreased by 0.5 percent to 466.5 million mt, both year on year, according to the China report from the World Steel Association (worldsteel).
In the given period, China’s steel product imports decreased by 1.4 percent year on year to 7.59 million mt, and its steel exports showed an increase of 8.5 percent to 67.4 million mt, while its net steel exports accounted for 13.4 percent of its crude steel output in the same period.
Meanwhile, in the first seven months this year, China’s iron ore imports increased by 8.1 percent year on year to 582 million mt. In the January-July period, the country’s iron ore output amounted to 710 million mt, down 2.2 percent year on year.