OREANDA-NEWS. April 14, 2011. China’s steel export volumes rose by 2.43 million tons from February, to 4.91 million tons in March 2011, and an increase of 47.45 percent from the same period last year, according to customs data.

In the first three months, China exported 10.51 million tons of steel products, up 20.7 percent year-on-year. In March, China imported 1.53 million tons of steel, up 510,000 tons from February and down 6.13 percent from a year earlier; the three-month import figures were 4.18 million tons, up 1.6 percent.

China imported 70,000 tons of steel billet in March, up 30,000 tons from the previous month, bringing the 3-month totals to 190,000 tons, up 19.7 percent. Coke export quantities were 770,000 tons in March, up 730,000 tons from a year earlier; and the first quarter exports were 1.2 million tons, up 802.6 percent.

China’s imports of iron ore were 59.48 million tons in March, up 12.64 million tons from the previous month and 0.8 percent year-on-year. The country imported 177.17 million tons of iron ore from January to March, up 14.4 percent, with an average unit price of USD 156.5 a ton, up 59.5 percent.