China's economy grew at the slowest pace in six quarters, prompting Beijing to introduce new stimulus measures at the end of September. According to economists, data to be released on Friday are expected to show that the economy grew by 4.5% in the third quarter compared to a year ago. This is the lowest rate since March 2023. Still, expansion is expected to remain around 4.9% in the first nine months, in line with the 5 % annual target.
In September, China's steel exports reached their highest level since 2016, up 21% year-on-year. The monthly figure of 10.2 million tons brought total exports since the beginning of the year to nearly 81 million tons. The stagnation in the domestic market has encouraged Chinese traders to send more goods abroad.
Chinese customs officials dismissed concerns about the increase in steel shipments, noting that the bulk of the country's steel production is still used domestically. However, the dollar value of steel exports decreased by 5% in the first nine months of the year, mainly due to decreasing prices.
Lv Daliang, Director of the Statistics Analysis Department of the Customs Administration, highlighted that global demand for Chinese steel is increasing and companies are introducing innovative products. ‘The steel industry in China continues to have a huge market with continuous innovation and improvement,’ he said.
In recent years, Beijing had taken various measures to reduce excess steel production capacity. However, despite these efforts, Chinese steelmakers have managed to maintain production increases. In 2018, it broke a world record by producing a record 928.26 million tons of crude steel.
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