China: Steel Exports Recorded Significant Dip in April

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster):  The monthly steel exports from China posted marginal decline in the month of April this year.

The exports, at 6.31 million tonnes, were down by 2.6% from the prior month. The reduced exports were mainly on account of increased supply to domestic market in response to pickup in demand. The April ’20 exports were down by 0.3% from April last year. The cumulative exports in the initial four-month period of the year recorded notable decline by 11.7%, when compared with Jan-Apr ’19.

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The country’s steel exports had touched record high in March this year, due to muted domestic demand on account of Covid-19 lockdown in the country. In fact, the exports had touched the highest level since June 2018. Based on traders’ views, the decline in steel exports are likely to persist in the forthcoming months as the domestic steel markets return to normalcy after Covid-19 restrictions.

The rise in steel demand has boosted iron ore consumption in the country. The imports of the steelmaking raw material nearly doubled in April this year, over the previous month.

Meantime, steel imports by the country too registered sharp decline by 11.7% from the prior month. The imports during Jan-Apr ’20 stood higher by 7.4% from the prior year period to total 4.18 million tonnes. However, the steel import bookings by China surged higher in April.