Chinese steel exports register rare sequential July growth

China's steel exports rebounded month-on-month in July after hitting a four-month low in June.

Finished steel exports in July rose 1.6% versus the earlier month to around 9.84 million tonnes. This was in contrast to the previous four years which each saw a m-o-m decline in July exports.

This took January-July growth to 11.4% year-on-year – resulting in 67.98mt of exports, according to data released by Chinese customs.

Supply pressure is also present upstream. Major Henan Province miner Pingmei resumed coking coal exports in July, having been suspended from 2021 to 2024 (see Kallanish 6 August 2025).

Meanwhile, Chinese finished steel imports registered a new historical low in July, falling 3.8% m-o-m to 452,000t. Year-to-date imports were 3.48mt, down 15.7% on-year.

Iron ore and concentrates imports slipped 1.3% on-month to 104.62mt in July. However, the decline in y-t-d imports narrowed in July to 2.3% on-year, as national hot metal output inched up compared with one year earlier. January-July imports stood at 696.57mt.

Source:Kallanish