WEEKLY: China steel exports stay weak, imports robust
Chinese steel mills and traders raised their steel export prices last week, persuaded by the recovery in domestic steel prices, and hence the price competitiveness of China’s steel products in international markets weakened further and sales stayed cool.
Over July 4-10, Mysteel assessed the export price of SS400 4.75mm hot-rolled coil higher by $8/tonne on week at $449/t FOB Bayuquan port, Northeast China’s Liaoning province, while that of B500B 18-25mm dia rebar also increased $9/t on week to reach $450/t FOB Shanghai port.
Over the same period, the domestic price of HRB400 200mm dia rebar had increased by Yuan 55/tonne (a similar $7.9/t) to reach Yuan 3,806/t including the 13% VAT as of July 10. The domestic price of Q235 4.75mm HRC also rebounded by Yuan 68/t on week to Yuan 3,853/t including the VAT as of the same day, as Mysteel Global reported.
“With the strengthening domestic steel market and demand abroad remaining poor, export sales were generally quiet,” according to a Shanghai-based market watcher.
In contrast to the dull export business, China’s market for imported steel was brisk. On July 7, a Chinese buyer ordered 30,000 tonnes of 5SP billets from India at $410/t CFR China, Mysteel Global understands.
“Bid prices being tabled by Chinese buyers for the billets rose from $400-405/t to $410/t in the space of a week. Altogether, nearly 100,000 tonnes of billets were booked from India and CIS countries recently,” the Shanghai source said.
“Orders for Indian billets have been super-hot recently, with the export allocation of some Indian mills for August being already sold out,” he added.
The weakness in China’s steel exports but robustness in imports, especially since April this year, is clearly reflected in China’s foreign trade numbers, Mysteel Global noted.
In the first half of this year, China’s steel exports declined by 16.5% on year to 34.4 million tonnes whereas its imports increased 26.1% on year to 5.8 million tonnes, as Mysteel Global reported.
Written by Olivia Zhang, zhangwd@mysteel.com and Tony Wu, wujchang@mysteel.com
Edited by Russ McCulloch, russ.mcculloch@mysteel.com
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