China's steel exports and imports in April 2020

China's steel exports stood at 6.32 million tons in April 2020, according to the latest statistics from the General Administration of Customs, practically unchanged from 6.33 million tons shipped in April 2019. In January-April 2020, China exported 20.60 million tons of finished steel, down 11.7 percent year on year.

On the other hand, China imported 1.01 million tonnes of finished steel in April 2020, down 11.5 percent from 1.11 million tonnes in March 2020. Total imports in January-April 2020 amounted to 4.18 million tons, an increase of 7.4 percent year on year. Strong demand in the local Chinese market contributed to strong steel imports to China between January and April, while imports are expected to continue to rise between May and June.

According to the latest statistics from the General Administration of Customs, imports of iron ore to China in April 2020 amounted to 97.27 million tons, up from 85.91 million tons in March 2020 and 80.77 million tons in April 2019. The demand for ore in China has been driven by the buildup of mills. increased production on an early recovery in construction activity; and the expectation that increased government incentives for infrastructure would revive consumption. In the first four months of the year, China injected 360 million tonnes of iron ore, up 5.8% from 340.21 million tonnes in the same period in 2019.