China: Zinc exports down sharply m-o-m in Aug'22

China's zinc exports stood at 1,945 tonnes (t) in August 2022, a sharp decline of 30% m-o-m against 2,790 t a month ago, as per data maintained with SteelMint.

However, zinc exports in January-August 2022 were recorded at 70,222 t.

• Semi-finished exports fall over 35%: Semi finished exports stood at 1,268 t in the month under review, a sharp decrease of 38% m-o-m against 2,034 t in the previous month.
  
  

Taiwan was the largest importer with 525 t followed by Vietnam with 344 t.

• Finished zinc exports down:
  
  

China exported a total of 510 t of finished (finish flat) zinc material in the month under review as against 535 t in July, a decrease of 5% m-o-m.

The US was the largest importer with around 235 t followed by Japan with around 61 t.

• Production scenario
  
  

China's zinc production was recorded at 0.53 mnt in August, a marginal increase as against 0.52 mnt in July 2022, as per data maintained with SteelMint.

The total production in January-August 2022 was recorded at 4.33 mnt, a decrease of 0.68% as against 4.36 mnt in the same period last year.

• CPI data m-o-m and y-o-y
  
  

China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, rose 2.5% y-o-y in August, slowing from a 2.7% rise from the previous month and lower than general market expectation, according to NBS data. On m-o-m the CPI fell 0.1%.