Meanwhile, China's import of pig iron and direct reduction iron, or DRI, also jumped to 1.051 million mt and 1.052 million mt over the first four months of 2020, some eight and four times higher than a year ago, respectively. As China has banned the import of scrap, pig iron and DRI are therefore imported as substitutes.
China imported 0.995 million mt of hot-rolled coil over January-April, more than double the year before.
China's steel end-users had begun to recover from the coronavirus pandemic since March, but a growing number of other countries have gone under lockdown since. The comparatively strong domestic steel market made China a target for international mills and traders, driving up import orders since March.
The Chinese steel market became particularly strong in April and May, as much of the construction works suspended in February and March due to the coronavirus lockdowns, were compressed into April-May. Although construction activity has slowed since June due to the rainy season, the Chinese domestic steel prices have remained attractive for overseas producers and traders.
