According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China (NBS), in January-May this year, the production of HRC and CRC in China amounted to 88.541 million tons and 20.684 million tons, up 6.7% and 5.6% year on year, respectively.
In May alone, the production of HRC and CRC in China amounted to 18.154 million tons and 4.286 million tons, up 4.0 percent and 8.3 percent year-on-year, while rising 3.2 percent and 6.7 percent month-on-month, respectively.
In May, HRC prices in China's domestic market first rose and then declined. HRC prices peaked in May at 3,580 yuan/t ($526/t) on May 12, and the lowest level for the month was 3,480 yuan/t ($511/t) on May 1-5, according to SteelOrbis data.
As previously reported by SteelOrbis, steel sheet/plate exports from China in January-May this year amounted to 26.16 million tons, down 13.9 percent from last year, 2.7 percentage points slower than the rate of decline recorded in the first four months of this year, according to Chinese customs authorities.
In May alone, China's steel sheet/plate exports totaled 6.1 million tons, down 3.7 percent year-on-year and up 11.7 percent month-on-month quantified.
Overseas demand for steel plates/sheets improved in May, leading to higher exports in the month compared to the previous month.
