China’s exports of iron and steel products dropped by 23pc in May and imports of the same rose by 30pc from the prior year month, according to official data. Trades of copper and aluminium products showed the same trend with imports of unwrought aluminium and aluminium products up 165pc from a year ago.
The COVID-19 pandemic effected most countries, suppressing demand for China’s exports, even as producers and manufacturers in China ramped up production in April and May.
| China’s exports in May | |||
| Commodity | May | YoY % Change | Jan-May |
| Iron & steel products | 440,000 | -23.2 | 25,000,000 |
| *Bars & rods | 69 | -11.5 | 3,550,000 |
| *Angles, sections | 20 | -40.8 | 1,370,000 |
| *Sheets and plates | 246 | -27.5 | 15,370,000 |
| *Wires | 17 | -11.5 | 750,000 |
| Ferro-alloys | 50,000 | 1.1 | 240,000 |
| Unwrought copper and copper products | 47,698 | -38.4 | 336,155 |
| Unwrought aluminium and aluminium products | 382,935 | -28.5 | 2,011,857 |
Post the pandemic, stimulus package disbursed by China’s provincial authorities encouraged Chinese mills and smelters to buy raw material from overseas markets. Taking advantage of the global weakness in demand, Chinese importers stocked up inventories at competitive prices.
| China’s imports in May | |||
| Commodity | May | YoY % Change | Jan-May |
| Iron & steel products | 1,280,000 | 30.3 | 546 |
| Unwrought copper and copper products | 436,031 | 21.0 | 2,184,516 |
| Unwrought aluminium and aluminium products | 119,145 | 164.8 | 527,783 |
| Iron ores and concentrates | 87,030,000 | 4.0 | 445,310,000 |
| Copper ores and concentrates | 1,690,000 | -8.0 | 9,260,000 |
| Aluminum ores and concentrates | 100,000 | -17.3 | 460,000 |