SHANGHAI, Sep 26 (SMM) – China’s exports of stainless steel expanded 3.57% from a month ago and 10.46% from a year ago to 341,500 mt in August, showed SMM calculations based on Customs data.

For the first eight months of 2019, stainless steel exports amounted to 2.37 million mt, down 15.89% from the same period a year earlier.

In August, China imported 92,700 mt of stainless steel, up 25.52% from July but down 20.15% from August 2018.

Indonesian materials accounted for 41%, or 38,000 mt. This was up 46% from a month earlier. China’s imports of stainless steel that originated from Indonesia totaled 355,300 mt in the January-August period, with a year-over-year decline of 59%.

China’s imports of stainless steel in January-August dropped 41.68% year on year to 783,500 mt.

Net exports of stainless steel came in at 1.59 million mt in the first eight months of the year, up 7.62% from the same period last year.