According to customs statistics, China exported 9.836 million tonnes of steel in July, an increase of 2.009 million tonnes or 25.7% year-on-year; steel imports stood at 452,000 tonnes, down 53,000 tonnes or 10.5% from a year earlier.

From January to July, total steel imports were 3.476 million tonnes, a decrease of 646,000 tonnes or 15.7% from the same period last year. Total steel exports in the first seven months reached 67.983 million tons, up 6.96 million tons or 11.4%.

In July, China imported 104.623 million tonnes of iron ore, a year-on-year increase of 1.81 million tonnes or 1.8%. The average import price at customs was USD 91.4/tonne, down USD 1.5/tonne from the previous month.

From January to July, cumulative iron ore imports amounted to 696.569 million tonnes, down 16.478 million tonnes or 2.3% year-on-year. The average import price stood at USD 96.6/tonne, a decrease of USD 18.2/tonne compared with the same period last year.