China's steel exports hit a new record between January and July

China's steel exports hit a record high in the first 7 months of this year, according to data released by China's General Administration of Customs. Exports jumped 37 percent over the corresponding period in 2013.

A sharp drop in domestic demand and an increase in demand from the US and the European market pushed steel exports from the country to record levels over a seven-month period, according to customs information. Exports totaled 49.1 million tonnes, a record growth of almost 37 percent over the previous year.

The sudden increase in export volumes is mainly due to the improvement in demand for steel products in developed countries. China, with sufficient steelmaking capacity, increased production, taking advantage of low crude prices.

Export of steel products during July 2014 amounted to 8.06 million tons. This is 14 percent higher compared to a month earlier. Meanwhile, domestic steel demand fell 2.9 percent year on year in July this year. This is due to poor weather conditions.

However, according to customs data, China imported 1.22 million tonnes of finished steel during July, up nearly 8 percent from imports in the previous month. Imports of finished steel to the country in the period from January to July amounted to 8.47 million tons, showing an increase of 5.8 percent compared to the corresponding seven months of 2013.