Up 12% from a year ago to 12.64 million tons
Korea exported about 12.64 million tons of steel products for the first seven months of the year, posting a year-on-year surge of 12%. In terms of value, its year-to-date overseas sales of steel products through July reached U.S.$14.6 billion, up 28.4% from the same period last year.
By item on the export front, long products showed a steep fall, while flat products increased. Compared with the same period last year, aggregate exports of long products from January through July plunged 15.4% from a year ago to 1,439,000 tons. Steel bars and rails increased from a year ago in the nation’s accumulated exports for the first seven months of the year, but its offshore sales of sections, reinforcing bars and wire rods plummeted 16.8%, 59.7% and 19.6%, respectively, from a year ago in the same period. It is mainly because of the tight supply of them in the domestic market in the wake of a drop in the inflow of Chinese long products.
In contrast, Korea’s exports of flat products jumped 16.3% to 9.35 million tons in the January-July period of this year compared with the identical period last year. Hot-rolled coils, cold-rolled steel sheets and galvanized steel sheets posted 2.65 million tons, 2.54 million tons and 1.64 million tons, respectively, marking a high year-on-year rise of 16.4%, 23.6% and 11.2%.
Meanwhile, Korea imported 18.46 million tons of steel products in the first seven months of the year, up 17% from a year ago. In terms of value, the nation’s accumulated imports of steel products from January through June reached U.S.$17.94 billion, marking a year-on-year soar of 58.8%. Those items that decreased from a year ago in the aggregate imports were wire rods, cold-rolled steel sheets, electric steel sheets, galvanized steel sheets, other coated steel sheets, steel pipes and cast iron, while most of other items increased. On the whole, imports of long products surged 14.9% from a year ago to 3.79 million tons together with a sharp year-on-year soar of 26.1% in the imports of flat products.
Thus, Korea posted net imports of 5.82 million tons and a deficit of U.S.$3.27 billion in its trade of steel products m in the January-July period of this year.
hwc7@snmnews.com