China's Finished Steel Exports Are Unlikely to Be Much Lower in August or September

China's finished steel exports are unlikely to be much lower in August or September after rising for the first time in four months during July, market participants said. Exports rose 3.5% month-on-month to 4.4 million tonnes in July, according to preliminary figures from Chinese customs. Imports also increased, by 3.3% to 1.24 million tonnes, leaving net exports at 3.2 million, compared to 3.09 million tonnes in July. Rising domestic prices encouraged overseas buyers to secure material, and this is also likely to affect volumes at least through August, trading sources said. "Higher domestic prices in July and an increase in export offers by our competitors in Asia will bolster high export volumes in August and September, " a trader in Shanghai said. Many steel mills are already fully booked for September shipment, and have started to work on exports for October delivery, exporters said. Chinese export offers for hot rolled coil have gone up to $700-710 per tonne fob, from a low of $670-680 fob in early July; while cold rolled coil offers have advanced to $760 fob, from $730. July exports were 2.35% lower than a year earlier, while imports were down 11.24%. China net steel trade surplus for the year to end-July was around 19.49 million tonnes. Source: metalbulletin.com