China snaps up steel as pandemic creates two-speed global market
China’s steel buyers have pounced on cheap offers from around the world to feed buoyant demand at home, with flows to the biggest market reaching levels unseen since the global financial crisis.
Imports of finished steel products jumped last month to nearly 1.9-million tons, just short of the haul seen in September 2009. Then, as now, imports rose as a domestic recovery made it more profitable to ship in some products as prices languished on a global market still crippled by an economic collapse.
China’s domestic hot-rolled coil prices have traded at unusual premiums to international prices as the coronavirus pandemic ravages international demand. The World Steel Association expects China’s usage will rise 1% this year thanks to government spending on infrastructure -- in sharp contrast to the 17% decline predicted for developed economies.
China’s imports cover only a small portion of overall consumption. The nation remains the world’s biggest exporter of steel, although outbound volumes shrank last month to their lowest in eight years as external demand has cratered.
Comments
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation