By Amy Lv and Lewis Jackson
BEIJING (Reuters) -China’s steel exports climbed in July, continuing a record-breaking run despite growing trade barriers being thrown up by countries concerned about a flood of Chinese exports.
Steel exports in July rose 1.7% from June to 9.84 million metric tons, taking total exports so far this year to 67.98 million tons, data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Thursday. The year-to-date tally is the highest level in records going back to 1990.
The record steel exports from the world’s largest producer have sparked a protectionist backlash globally, with almost 40 countries starting up anti-dumping investigations since January last year. Top trade partners Vietnam and South Korea have imposed tariffs, arguing that their domestic manufacturers are hurt by cheap Chinese steel.
In response, Chinese steelmakers have been turning to exporting semi-finished products, which face fewer tariffs.
IRON ORE
Imports of the main steelmaking ingredient iron ore slipped 1.3% to 104.62 million tonnes in July, the data also showed, as higher prices hit demand.
Iron ore prices rose nearly 7% in July on bets they would be tolerated after Beijing’s pledge to crack down on price wars sparked expectations of a fresh wave of supply-side reform in the steel sector, which has been plagued by overproduction.
But higher prices dampened appetite among some cost-sensitive steelmakers that suffered losses during 2023 and 2024 amid faltering demand, analysts said.
Imports also slowed as miners sent fewer shipments after a rush in June to hit quarterly targets. Some cargoes were also delayed because of Typhoon Wipha, according to Cao Ying, an analyst at broker SDIC Futures.
Still, July marks the third month so far this year that China’s monthly iron ore imports stayed above 100 million tons.
July’s imports were down from a six-month high of 105.95 million tons in June, but up from 102.81 million tons in the same month in 2024.
“Despite a monthly decline, iron ore imports in July stayed high amid the relatively high hot metal output driven by improved steel profitability,” said Chu Xinli, an analyst at China Futures.
In the first seven months of 2025, China’s iron ore imports totalled 696.57 million tons, down 2.3% from the same period last year.
(Reporting by Amy Lv and Lewis Jackson; Editing by Tom Hogue)
