China’s steel exports hit 9-year high in October
Date:2024-11-08View:89Tags:430 stainless coil,seamless tubes,"plate 1.4306"
Shipments increased by 40.8% y/y and 10.1% m/m.
Reports from Reuters indicate that steel exports in October 2024 reached 11.18 million tons, marking a 10.1% increase from the previous month and a substantial 40.8% increase compared to October 2023.
From January to October this year, Chinese steel producers exported a total of 91.89 million tons, reflecting a 23.3% year-on-year increase. This figure has already surpassed the total exports for the entirety of 2023, marking the highest level since 2016. Experts suggest that the total exports for this year could potentially exceed 110 million tons.
On the other hand, iron ore imports into China during October 2024 experienced a slight decrease of 0.2% month-on-month but saw a 4.5% year-on-year increase, totaling 103.84 million tons. Over the ten months of the year, imports reached 1.023 billion tons, reflecting a 4.9% year-on-year growth.
Zhuo Guiqiu, an analyst at Jinrui Futures, noted that ore demand saw an improvement last month, driven by a surge in pig iron production due to improved margins for steelmakers. This led to higher imports. In October, average daily pig iron output rose by 4.1% compared to September, with a significant portion of Chinese steelmakers operating at a profit by the end of the month, a notable improvement from the previous month. Consequently, high imports contributed to the increase in port stocks of iron ore, which saw a 1.2% rise.
In October, steel imports into China amounted to 536 thousand tons, showing a decrease of 3.2% both month-on-month and year-on-year. From January to October, imports were down by 10.1% year-on-year, totaling 5.72 million tons.
Looking back at 2023, China witnessed a 36.2% increase in steel product exports compared to 2022, reaching 90.3 million tons. Steel imports into China for that year amounted to 7.64 million tons, a 27.6% decrease year-on-year. Ore imports also increased by 6.6% compared to 2022, totaling 1.179 billion tons.
In 2023, China produced 1.019 billion tons of steel, marking a 0.6% increase from 2022 and signaling a halt to the previous years' declining production trend in the country's steel industry.
