Global News: Chinese Crude Steel Output Down, Aluminum Imports Rise

What happens abroad impacts MSCI members in North America. Here is the latest economic, trade, and other policy news of note for the last week:

• According to Reuters, Thailand has launched an investigation into imports of Chinese rolled steel for evading anti-dumping measures. The probe includes hot-rolled steel sheets in coils and non-coils from 17 manufacturers in China.
• China’s aluminum imports rose 20 percent between July 2023 and August 2023 and 38.9 percent between August 2022 and August 2023. Imports for the first eight months were at 1.71 million tons, up 15.8 percent from the corresponding 2022 period. The increase mainly came from Russia. China’s imports of primary aluminum from Russia surged 177 percent in the first seven months this year. Domestic output of primary aluminum rose to 3.6 million tons in August, up 3.1 percent on the year.
• China’s crude steel output fell 4.8 percent from July 2023 to August 2023 as some steel mills scaled back production due to shrinking margins. (Only half of Chinese steel mills were operating at a profit at the end of August, compared to around two-thirds in late July.) Output was up 3.2 percent from August 2022, however. Additionally, China produced 712.93 million tons of crude steel in the first eight months of 2023, up 2.6 percent from the same period a year before. Read more at Hellenic Shipping News.
• Japan’s Ministry of Finance announced the country’s exports fell 0.8 percent from August 2022 to August 2023. It was the second straight month of year-over-year declines. The decline was due mainly to reduced demand from China for steel and heavy oil. Read more from Reuters.