Chinese CRC export volume up 46% in June

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It shipped 346,644 tonnes during the month, a 46.1% year-on-year increase, according to data released by the Chinese customs late on Monday July 21.

However, the volume is 20.4% lower compared with the 435,357 tonnes exported in May, given that June is typically a slow season for the steel market.

The USA overtook South Korea as the top importer of Chinese CRC in June. It imported 54,064 tonnes of the product, just over three times as much as the 17,323 tonnes it took in a year earlier.

China exported a total of 2.168 million tonnes of CRC in the first half of 2014, up 39.4% on the year.

The USA accounted for 329,791 tonnes, which forms the largest share of 15.2%. The figure is also about two-and-a-half times the Chinese CRC shipments that the USA took in over the first six months of last year.

The surge in Chinese CRC shipments into the USA has led to growing concerns about a potential anti-dumping investigation against the product.

Chinese exporters are also wary of any possible trade action, as the USA is a major export destination for CRC. Although business has not been affected so far, market participants told Steel First that they would monitor developments in the USA closely.