China's steel exports in November jumped to a record high of nearly 10 million tonnes, customs data showed on Monday, reflecting increased efforts by domestic producers to sell more overseas amid slower demand at home. A slowing Chinese economy has hit demand for steel in the world's largest consumer of the alloy, with weak overall trade data for last month adding to concerns of a sharper slowdown.
China's shipments of steel products rose 13.7 percent from October to 9.72 million tonnes in November, bringing total exports for the first 11 months to almost 84 million tonnes. China's apparent steel consumption fell 1.4 percent to 619.61 million tonnes in the first 10 months, the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) said in a report in October. "As a result of weak domestic market, Chinese steel mills have been increasingly focusing on export markets," said Daniel Hynes, senior commodity strategist at Australia and New Zealand Banking Group.
"But when you consider the anti-dumping investigations going on in some of those markets like in India and the United States, it doesn't bode well for those export levels to be maintained over the medium term." India and the United States were among the top 10 export markets for Chinese steel over January to August, according to data from the International Steel Statistics Bureau.