SEOUL: South Korea’s steel imports climbed 2.3 percent in July from a year earlier on the back of increased shipments from China, industry data showed Monday.
Steel imports came to 1.96 million tons last month, compared with the 1.92 million tons tallied in the previous year, according to the data compiled by the Korea Iron and Steel Association (KOSA).
The number marks the first on-year gain in four months since the 4.2 percent on-year increase recorded in March. Compared with the previous month, imports umped 10.3 percent in July. In the first seven months of this year, cumulative imports fell 3.9 percent to 12.79 million tons.
The July rise in steep imports was due largely to a surge in shipments from China. Imports from the neighboring country soared 21 percent to 1.35 million tons. In contrast, those from Japan plunged 17.9 percent on-year to 509,000 tons, according to the data.
“Demand for steel bars shot up in July, and it’s likely that China may be trying to ship out its H-shaped structural steel beams ahead of looming punitive tariffs on the product in South Korea,” a KOSA official said.
In May, South Korea’s trade commission recommended the government impose a significant amount of antidumping duties on cheap Chinese steel beam imports, citing damage to domestic steelmakers.
