Global Economic Analysis: Chinese Finished Steel Exports Down, Unwrought Aluminum Exports Up
- According to American Metal Market (subscription required), finished steel exports from China fell 15.7 percent from February 2017 to February 2018, but increased 4.8 percent between January 2018 and February 2018. The country exported 9.5 million tons of finished steel in the first two months of 2018, a 27.1 percent drop from the same period in 2017. Crude steel output in China, according to AMM, fell 0.8 percent from January 2018 to February 2018.
- AMM also reported last week that Chinese exports on unwrought aluminum and aluminum products increased 43 percent between February 2017 and February 2018. Exports fell slightly between January 2018 and February 2018.
- Industrial output in Germany increased 0.1 percent in January and 0.5 percent in December while the nation’s trade surplus declined in 2017 for the first time in eight years.