India's April-Sept steel imports led by China, govt data shows
By Neha Arora
NEW DELHI, Nov 8 (Reuters) -India's imports of steel over the period from April to September were led by shipments from China, according to provisional government data reviewed by Reuters on Friday, and the South Asian nation remained a net importer of the alloy.
The world's second-biggest producer of crude steel imported 4.7 million metric tons of the finished metal from April to September, up 42.2% from a year ago, the data showed.
China exported 1.4 million metric tons of steel to India during the period, up 36.7% from a year ago.
Hot-rolled coil was India's biggest import, making up 44% of overall finished steel shipments, the data showed.
China exported stainless steel, hot-rolled coils, galvanised plain and corrugated sheets, plates, electrical sheets, pipes and bars and rods, the data showed.
"Cheap import offers kept market sentiment bearish in India," the government said in its report.
On Thursday, India's Tata Steel TISC.NS CEO said prolonged imports from China could hurt the investment plans of the domestic steel industry.
Apart from China, imports during April-September increased from South Korea, Japan and Vietnam, the data showed.
South Korea exported 1.2 million metric tons of steel to India during the period, up 11.5% on the year, the data showed.
Japan exported 1.1 million metric tons of the alloy, more than double from the year-ago period.
Vietnam exported 0.4 million metric tons of steel during the period, more than double from a year ago, the data showed.
India has launched an anti-dumping investigation on certain steel imports from Vietnam.
Domestically, India's finished steel production stood at 70.6 million metric tons during the period, up 4.7% from a year ago.
Finished steel exports during April-September stood at 2.3 million metric tons, down 35.9% from a year ago.
Italy was India's biggest export market, but shipments slowed to 0.4 million metric tons, down 43.5% from a year ago.
Exports also slowed to Belgium, Nepal and Spain, which are among the top five biggest destinations for Indian steel.
Crude steel production during April to September stood at 72.8 million metric tons, up 3.6% from a year ago.
Consumption of finished steel was at 72.7 million metric tons during the period, up 13.5% on the year.
Reporting by Neha Arora; Editing by Clarence Fernandez
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
