In August this year, China exported a total of 6.14 million mt of finished steel, up by 44.8 percent year on year, with the monthly export volume thus exceeding 6 million mt for the first time since October 2008, as announced by the Chinese customs authorities. Meanwhile, China's finished steel import volume in August totaled 1.23 million mt, up by 2.5 percent year on year.
In the January-August period of the current year, China exported 41.98 million mt of finished steel, up by 17.4 percent, while China imported 9.23 million mt of finished steel, down 0.9 percent, both on year-on-year basis.
In August, China imported 69.01 million mt of iron ore, up 10.6 percent year on year, while the average iron ore import price during the month was $118.8/mt, declining by 7.7 percent compared to the same month in the previous year. In the January-August period, China's imports of iron ore totaled 526.12 million mt, up 8.3 percent year on year, while the average iron ore import price during the given period was $129.5/mt, declining by 5.9 percent year on year.
On the other hand, China's total imports of mechanical and electrical products in August amounted to a value of $72.26 billion, up by 0.6 percent year on year, including 102,000 automotive vehicles, down 5.6 percent year on year.