Chinese steel competitive again. The country's finished steel exports over January-March rose 24% on year to 17.682 million mt, but should moderate to around 4.5 million mt/month from May, Platts Analytics estimates.
Platts Analytics continues to forecast China's finished steel exports will be 65 million mt in 2021, up 11 million mt or 21% from 2020.
The rise in China's March steel exports can also be attributed to exporters rushing to ship products before April, when China was expected to cut or remove steel export rebates in an effort to decrease exports and indirectly discourage steel production. But given rising international prices, Chinese steel exports would be viable even if the entire 13% export rebate was removed.
China's domestic HRC prices have risen around 20% since the start of the year. Plans to reduce steel output in the northeastern city of Tangshan for