China's finished steel exports dropped sharply, daily average of exports down 13.9% from December.
The General Administration of Customs data revealed that China's finished steel imports fell 7.9% year on year to 2.207 million mt over the same period. Net finished steel exports fell 22.2% on the year to 6.027 million mt.
China's finished steel exports were likely to remain low in March but were expected to rebound strongly in April and May due to robust overseas order bookings since the end of February, market sources said.
In the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, buyers from Asia, the Middle East, and Europe have turned to Chinese hot rolled coil as an alternative, according to the sources.
Since the end of February, S&P Global Commodity Insights revealed that offshore order bookings for Chinese HRC, as well as certain complete hard coil, had reached roughly 400,000-500,000 mt. The majority of the orders were for shipping in April or May.
Market sources, on the other hand, predicted that China's completed steel imports will continue to shrink in the coming months owing to weak local demand induced by a slowdown in housing investment.
The materials and information on this article have been prepared or assembled by Viet Nam Steel and are intended for informational purposes only.
