China's steel price advantage gradually appears

According to data released by the General Administration of Customs, in November 2020, China exported 4.402 million tons of steel, an increase of 363,000 tons from the previous month, a month-on-month increase of 9.0% and a year-on-year decrease of 3.8%; from January to November, the cumulative export of steel products was 48.826 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 18.1%. In November, steel exports maintained a rebound trend, and the export volume was close to the same period last year.

The recovery of overseas steel demand has brought market space for China's exports. With the sharp increase in the price of the international steel market, the competitiveness of China's steel products in price has gradually emerged, prompting the export volume to continue to expand slightly.

At the end of November, China’s hot-rolled steel coil export offer (FOB) was US$567/ton, an increase of US$56/ton from the end of October; however, compared with other countries, it was US$21/ton and US$73/ton lower than CIS and Turkey respectively.