The operation of the China steel industry from January to July 2020

1. Steel production in China continued to grow. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the national output of pig iron, crude steel, and steel from January to July was 510.86 million tons, 591.17 million tons, and 723.95 million tons, respectively, up 3.2%, 2.8% and 3.7% year-on-year.
 
2. China steel exports continued to decline and imports continued to grow. According to data from the General Administration of Customs, from January to July, a total of 32.88 million tons of steel products were exported nationwide, a year-on-year decrease of 17.6%; a total of 9.948 million tons of steel products were imported, a year-on-year increase of 49.3%.
 
3. Steel prices continued to rise. According to the monitoring of the China Iron and Steel Association, as of the end of July, China's steel composite price index had rebounded to 104.52 points, an increase of 1.5% from the end of June, and a decrease of 4.98 points or 4.55% from the same period of the previous year.
 
Fourth, the company's efficiency has declined year on year. From January to July, China Iron and Steel Association's key statistics steel companies achieved sales revenue of 2.47 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.3%; realized profits of 86.87 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 28.6%, and the decline continued to narrow; sales profit rate was 3.52%, compared with the same period last year Decrease by 1.57 percentage points.
 
5. Steel stocks rose slightly. The social inventory of five types of steel (rebar, wire rod, hot rolled coil, cold rolled coil, medium and heavy plate) in major cities across the country rose slightly to 12.57 million tons at the end of July, up 3.4% from the previous month, and down from the peak in early March this year 37.8%.
 
6. The price of imported ore continued to rise. According to data from the General Administration of Customs, the national iron ore imports from January to July were 65.55 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 11.8%. In July, the average price of imported fine ore (62% grade) was US$106.53/ton, a month-on-month increase of US$5.76/ton, an increase of 5.7%. (Source from National Development and Reform Commission)