Japan's steel exports increased 8.1% in May, says MoF data

Author: Paul Ploumis25 Jun 2014 Last updated at 03:11:23 GMT

TOKYO (Scrap Monster): According to data released by the Japanese Ministry of Finance (MoF), the country’s steel products export climbed higher by 8.1% in May over the previous month. The country’s exports totaled 3,499 thousand tons (t/t) during the month, which was 4.0% down when compared with the exports during the same month a year before. The exports generated 324.8 billion Japanese Yen during the month.

The steel exports to Asian region totaled 2,745 t/t, down 7.5% when compared with the exports during May 2013. The exports to the Middle East region fell sharply by 26.3% over the year to 117 t/t. The exports to the USA were up 41% to 203 t/t and those to the EU region were up 65.5% to 29 t/t in May this year.

Also, the imports of steel products during the month of May this year totaled 709 t/t, down 10.8% from the previous month. However, MoF notes that the total imports have managed to reach above 700 t/t levels since October last year.

On the other hand, Japan’s imports of steel products from Asian region were up by 26.1% in May this year upon comparison with the previous year. The imports from Asian region totaled 608/ t/t during the month. The imports from the USA too fell by 6% to 1.2 t/t, whereas those from the EU too plunged 20.9% to 9.5 t/t during the month of May this year.