In November 2023, China imported 614,000 tons of steel, a decrease of 54,000 tons from the previous month and a decrease of 138,000 tons from the same period last year. The average unit price of imports was US$1,628.2/ton, an increase of 7.3% from the previous month and a decrease of 6.4% from the same period last year. China exported 8.005 million tons of steel, an increase of 66,000 tons from the previous month and an increase of 2.415 million tons year-on-year. The average export unit price was US$810.9/ton, an increase of 2.4% from the previous month and a decrease of 38.4% from the same period last year.
From January to November 2023, China imported 6.980 million tons of steel, a year-on-year decrease of 29.2%; the average import unit price was US$1,667.1/ton, a year-on-year increase of 3.5%; the imported steel billets were 2.731 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 56.0%. China exported 82.658 million tons of steel, a year-on-year increase of 35.6%; the average export unit price was 947.4 US dollars/ton, a year-on-year decrease of 32.2%; exported 3.016 million tons of steel billets, a year-on-year increase of 2.056 million tons; net crude steel exports were 79.602 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 30.993 million tons, an increase of 63.8%.
Exports of wire rods and other varieties have grown significantly
In November 2023, China's steel exports rebounded to more than 8 million tons month-on-month. The export volume of wire rods, welded steel pipes and hot rolled steel thin and wide steel strips has increased significantly, and exports to Vietnam and Saudi Arabia have increased significantly.
The export volume of hot rolled thin and wide steel strips reached the highest value since June 2022
In November 2023, China exported 5.458 million tons of plates, down 0.1% from the previous month, accounting for 68.2% of total exports. Among the varieties with larger export volumes, the export volume of coated plates, hot-rolled thin and wide steel strips, and medium-thick and wide steel strips all exceeded 1 million tons. Among them, the export volume of hot-rolled thin and wide steel strips in November 2023 reached the highest level since June 2022.
The largest export increases were wire rods, welded steel pipes and hot rolled thin and wide steel strips, which increased by 25.5%, 17.5% and 11.3% respectively from the previous month. The largest export reductions were in large steel sections and bars, both falling by more than 50,000 tons month-on-month. In November 2023, China exported 357,000 tons of stainless steel, a month-on-month increase of 6.2%, accounting for 4.5% of total exports; it exported 767,000 tons of special steel, a month-on-month decrease of 2.1%, accounting for 9.6% of total exports.
Import reduction mainly comes from medium plates and cold rolled steel thin and wide steel strips
In November 2023, China's steel imports fell month-on-month and remained low. The decrease in imports mainly comes from medium plates and cold rolled thin and wide steel strips, with imports from Japan and South Korea both declining.
All import reductions come from steel plates
In November 2023, my country imported 511,000 tons of plates, a month-on-month decrease of 10.6%, accounting for 83.2% of total imports. Among the varieties with larger import volume, the import volume of coated plates, cold-rolled sheets and medium-thick and wide steel strips all exceeded 90,000 tons, accounting for 50.5% of the total import volume. All the import reductions came from plates, of which medium plates and cold rolled thin and wide steel strips decreased by 29.0% and 20.1% month-on-month respectively.
All import reductions came from Japan and South Korea
In November 2023, all of China’s import reductions came from Japan and South Korea, with month-on-month decreases of 8.2% and 17.6% respectively. Imports from ASEAN were 93,000 tons, a month-on-month increase of 7.2%, of which imports from Indonesia increased by 8.9% month-on-month to 84,000 tons.
Post time: Jan-12-2024