China's steel sector has bigger worries than Biden tariff hike
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China's steel sector is facing bigger concerns over faltering local demand and threats of stronger blowback against China's surging steel exports. The state-backed China Metallurgical Industry Planning and Research Institute forecasts a 1.7% drop in China's steel demand this year. While China's steel exports last year climbed more than a third to their highest since 2016, just 598,000 tons of the shipments went to the United States. China is the seventh-largest shipper of steel to the U.S. and the main destinations for China's steel exports are Japan, South Korea, and Middle East countries. Chinese steelmakers and traders are on track to match or surpass last year's exports, with domestic information provider Lange Steel lifting its forecast to more than 100 million tons for 2024 after March shipments beat expectations. China's cheap steel products are also facing complaints from other countries, including India, Mexico, Thailand, and Brazil. Steel consumption in China is expected to shrink again this year due to a protracted property crisis and slowing infrastructure demand growth. Beijing's latest support for the sector is unlikely to fully offset reduced steel consumption from the property sector. Global steel demand is expected to rise 1.7% to 1.793 billion tons this year. Chinese steel exports climbed to 9.89 million tons in March, the highest for a month since July 2016. China's first quarter steel exports averaged $789 per ton, far above local prices averaging 4,145 yuan ($572.30).
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