Japan has reduced exports of HRC

TOKYO: Exports of hot rolled coil (HRC) dropped sharply from the country during the month of January this year, according to updated statistics released by the Japanese Ministry of Finance (MoF).

Treasury data show that HRC exports from Japan totaled 973,573 tonnes during the month. This is 12.1 percent less compared to exports in the previous month. Exports in December 2014 amounted to 1,110,000 tons.

HRC export prices averaged $ 533.60 per tonne FOB during January 2015. Average prices fell 1.1 percent from the previous month. HRC export prices last December averaged $ 539.53 per tonne. This is due to a decrease in business activity in the winter, but with the onset of spring, the market situation has a chance for a recovery in prices.

The largest export destination for Japanese hot rolled coils was South Korea. Exports to South Korea totaled 209,449 tons, up 2.9 percent from the previous month. Japanese HRC exports to South Korea totaled 203,546 tons during the month of December 2014. China was the second largest importer of Japanese-made hot-rolled coils. HRC exports to China amounted to 44,593 tons. At the same time, exports to China dropped significantly. The fall was 18.8 percent from the previous month.