China's Net Steel Exports May Exceed 25 Million Tons

The Ministry of Commerce forecast China would export approximately 43 million tons of steel products while importing 16 million tons of steel this year, resulting in a net crude steel export of 25 million tons or more.

China's dependence on foreign iron ore has been falling since March. The continual increase in ore supplies from the domestic source stems from the higher cost of imported materials. Given challenging conditions the low grade homegrown materials pose to the blast furnace, however, there seems to be limited room for domestic suppliers to further expand their output.