China: Billets import rise by 43%, m-o-m, in Nov'21

China, the world's largest steel producer, registered billets import of 1.73 million tonnes (mn t) in Nov'21, a significant rise of 43% m-o-m compared to 1.21 mn t in Oct, data maintained with SteelMint shows.

Vietnam leading exporter

Vietnam continued to be the largest exporter of steel billets to China at 0.32 mn t in Nov. Import volumes from Vietnam witnessed an increase of 7% m-o-m as against 0.30 mn t in Oct. Notably, Vietnam's domestic demand remained subdued amid Covid concerns resulting in mills exploring the exports market actively. Vietnam's finished steel sales declined 14% m-o-m to 2.3 mn t in Nov, according to data released by the Vietnam Steel Association. However, finished steel production increased marginally to 2.9 mn t in Nov'21.

India occupied the second position among the top importers' list in Nov'21 with 0.29 mn t followed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with 0.26 mn t. Imports of steel billets from India increased 7%, m-o-m.

Why have imports risen?

Steel production cuts since the past few months, active Chinese buying concluding a decent quantity of billet deals from the Gulf countries before the Golden Week holidays (1-7 Oct'21) and SE Asian countries exploring export options due to subdued local demand resulted in a considerable increase in imports, SteelMint understands.

Billets import down y-o-y in Jan-Nov'21

Imports of the material into China stood at 11.06 mn t in Jan-Nov'21, a significant decline of 33% y-o-y as against 16.60 mn t in Jan-Nov'20.

Considering y-o-y, Vietnam was the largest exporter of steel billets with 2.56 mn t followed by Indonesia with 1.64 mn t, Iran and Oman with 1.18 mn t, each.

Price trends

SteelMint's assessment of China's imported billets (150*150mm, 3SP) prices fell to $675/t CFR in end-Oct'21 from $703/t CFR levels in end-Sep'21. Prices fell to $598/t CFR by the end-Nov.

Outlook

Chinese buyers could soon restart importing of steel billets actively, against a backdrop of stronger local demand for the semi-finished steel products to maintain the stocks ahead of the Chinese New Year period in early February.