According to statistics released by the Korea Iron and Steel Association, South Korea' exports of steel plates totaled 156,819 tonnes in June 2012, rising by 12.6% YoY while slumping by 50.4% MoM from a month earlier. Also, the country's exports of steel plates in June 2012 hit the lowest monthly volumes in the current year, caused by weakness in the construction industry in Middle East and Southeast Asia.
In June 2012, South Korean's production of steel plates totaled 814,809 tonnes, decreasing by 5.2% YoY and declining by 11.2% MoM. At the same time, the sales of steel plates for the domestic market decreased by 14.9% YoY while increased by 3% MoM from May 2012.
At the end of June 2012, the steel plate inventories at the South Korean steelmakers decreased by 3.3% from a month earlier to 525,784 tonnes