China increased steel exports by 24% y/y in January-June

In January-June 2024, Chinese steel companies increased steel exports by 24% compared to the same period in 2023, to 53.4 million tons. This was reported by the China Steel Association (CISA).

Imports of steel products for 6 months decreased by 3.3% compared to January-June 2023 – to 3.62 million tons. Iron ore imports reached 611.18 million tons, up 6.2% y/y.

In June, Chinese steelmakers exported 8.74 million tons of steel, down 9.2% month-on-month. The average export price was $772.6/t (-1.6% m/m). Steel imports in June fell by 9.7% m/m to 575 thousand tons. The average import price amounted to $1.61 thousand (-9.7% m/m).

China’s imports of iron ore last month reached 97.61 million tons, down 4.3% compared to May. The average import price amounted to $107.3/t (-1.5% m/m).

According to BigMint, China’s indirect steel exports are expected to grow by 9% in 2024 compared to 2023 to 127 million tons. In 2023, this figure was 116 million tons (+3% y/y). Supporting factors include high automotive exports, shipbuilding growth, energy transition, and demand for machinery from Russia.

As a reminder, in 2023, China increased its exports of steel products by 36.2% compared to 2022, to 90.3 million tons. Steel imports to China amounted to 7.64 million tons, down 27.6% y/y. Ore imports for the year increased by 6.6% compared to 2022 to 1.179 billion tons.

In 2023, China produced 1.019 billion tons of steel, up 0.6% from 2022. The downward trend in the country’s steel industry has stopped after two consecutive years of declining production.