Japan July Steel Export Hits First Drop in 4 Months

Japanese steel export decreased by 13.8% to 3.297 million tonnes in July from June, which was the first drop in 4 months, announced by Ministry of Finance on Wednesday. The monthly volume was the lowest level in 2010 and 21 lower than the peak in March. Japanese steel makers’ export order receipt decreased when steel market price decreased in Asia, which represents 80% of the export. Japanese steel makers’ export order is still slow due to adjustment in China while the buyers’ appetite recovers after Chinese steel price rebounded since late July. Japanese export volume is likely to keep low level in and after August.

The steel export increased by 3.7% in July from a year earlier, which increased for 12 months in a row. However, the increase was less than 10% when offshore steel market started to recover since mid-2009. The export to Asian countries decreased by 18.1% from June and lower than a year earlier level. The export volume decreased by 25.9% for Asian newly industrializing economies (NIES) including the largest export destination of South Korea. The export to NIES showed largest drop in the destination areas. The export decreased by 13.2% for China and by 12.4% to Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The averaged export unit value was around 93,560 yen per tonne in July, which was 649 yen higher than June level. The export value decreased by 10.4% to 308.467 billion yen.

The steel import volume decreased by 8.5% to 618,554 tonnes in July from June while the volume was 79.1% higher than a year earlier. The averaged unit value increased by 2,311 yen to 113,125 yen per tonne from June while the import value decreased by 6.6%. The import volume from Asia, which represented 75% of the total volume, decreased by 8% from June. The import decreased by 7.9% from Asian NIES and by 14.6% from China.