South Korea's HR steel exports and imports rebound in Aug'24

SteelDaily: South Korea's hot-rolled (HR) steel exports and imports showed significant growth in August 2024 compared to the previous month, according to data from the Korea Iron and Steel Association.

Exports touched 393,032 tonnes (t), up 8.4% y-o-y and 29.3% m-o-m, marking the largest quantity exported since May 2023. India emerged as the top destination, with 87,719 t, representing an 18.9% y-o-y increase from August 2023. Italy and Vietnam also saw notable increases, with 53,217 t (up 29.6% y-o-y) and 52,270 t (up 41.3% y-o-y), respectively.

However, exports to Japan, the US, and Turkiye declined. Japan received 48,550 t (down 8% y-o-y), the US received 34,518 t (down 17.2% y-o-y), and Turkiye received 14,858 t (down 26.9% y-o-y).

Imports recovered to 294,508 t, down 9.5% y-o-y but up 30% m-o-m. China, the primary exporting country, accounted for 147,189 t, nearly triple July's volume. Japan supplied 147,319 t, a decrease of over 20,000 t from July.

Both export and import prices continued to decline, with the former averaging $617/t (down for five consecutive months) and the latter averaging $553/t (down for six consecutive months).

Cumulative exports from January to August totalled 2.607 million tonnes (mnt) (down 12.9% y-o-y), while imports touched 2.247 mnt (down 11% y-o-y).

Overall, the Korean steel industry demonstrated a strong recovery in August, with exports and imports both experiencing significant growth. However, the cumulative performance for the year remains impacted by previous months' declines.

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