China: Steel exports in the first quarter reached nearly 26 million tons, up more than 30% over the same period

China's steel exports hit a nearly eight-year high amid the ongoing property crisis and a lack of domestic demand recovery as expected.

Specifically, China's steel exports reached 9.89 million tonnes in March 2024, the highest since July 2016 and up 25.35% year-on-year.

For the first quarter of 2024, China's steel exports reached 25.8 million tonnes, the highest since 2016 and up 30.7% year-on-year, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.

Meanwhile, China's steel product imports fell 9.26% to 617,000 tonnes in March 2024. For the quarter as a whole, total steel imports fell 8.6% to 1.75 million tonnes.

Iron Ore Imports Slightly Up

China's iron ore imports rose 0.5% year-on-year in March 2024, buoyed by expectations that demand will recover after the Lunar New Year holiday, which is typically a period when steel mills ramp up production.

The world's largest iron ore consumer imported 100.72 million metric tons of the metal in March 2024, data from the General Administration of Customs showed. That was up from 97.51 million tons in February 2024 and 100.23 million tons in March 2023.

The relatively high level of imports may have been due to expectations that steel mills will resume production in March 2024, which would boost iron ore demand, said Chu Xinli, an analyst at China Futures.

However, demand was much weaker than expected in March 2024, leading to large inventories and falling prices.

Iron ore inventories at major Chinese ports rose 5.3% to 142.1 million tonnes at the end of March 2024, the highest since late February 2023, while iron ore prices plunged 13%, data from Steelhome showed.

China's total iron ore imports in the first quarter of 2024 reached 310.13 million tonnes, up 5.5% year-on-year, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.

Wu Hao (According to Reuters)