China stainless steel exports dipped 2.13% in September

SHANGHAI, Oct 28 (SMM) – China's exports of stainless steel fell 6,000 mt or 2.13% month on month and decreased 21.8% year on year to 263,500 mt, showed China customs data compiled by SMM. China imported 177,100 mt of stainless steel last month, up 31.8% from August and up 74.4% from September 2019.

China stainless steel exports remained stable in September from August, with a total export of nearly 263,000 mt. China stainless steel exports basically remained at about 260,000 mt since the third quarter, but decline on a yearly basis was about 21%, and the total exports in the third quarter decreased about 21.4% year on year.

For the first nine months of 2020, stainless steel exports amounted to 2.41 million mt, down 11% from the same period a year earlier.

China stainless steel imports amounted to about 177,100 mt in August, up 43,000 mt or 31.8% from August. The change of stainless steel imports is mainly due to the change of stainless steel ingots and other imports, and the main influencing factor is the change of Indonesia's stainless steel imports. Indonesia's stainless steel imports stood at about 124,300 mt in September, up 34,000 mt from the previous month, accounting for about 80% of the increase in imports.

Indonesia's scheduled production in October exceeded 300,000 mt, according to an SMM survey. Stainless steel output doesn’t have a downward trend in the fourth quarter, and stainless steel imports from Indonesia in the later period may still be at a high level.

According to the seasonal influence of previous years, exports may decline to a certain extent in the fourth quarter, but the decline is expected to be limited because exports remained low.