China's steel exports hit a record monthly high in December, fuelled by front-loading driven by Beijing's announcement of an export licence requirement for shipments from 2026.
The world's largest steel producer shipped 11.3 million tonnes of the metal used in construction and manufacturing last month, the highest for a single month, data from the country's General Administration of Customs showed on Wednesday.
Beijing has plans to roll out a licence system from 2026 to regulate steel exports, as robust shipments have sparked a growing protectionist backlash worldwide.
Some exporters rushed to ramp up shipments before January on fears that the export licence requirement might impact shipments, analysts said.
Despite surprisingly high exports, China's prolonged property market woes have remained a drag on steel consumption.
China's steel demand is projected to slide by one per cent this year after an annual fall of 5.4 per cent in 2025, according to a forecast from a state-backed research agency.
Steel exports for the whole year rose by 7.5 per cent from the year before to an all-time high of 119.02 million tonnes despite an increasing number of countries throwing up trade barriers on Chinese steel arguing that domestic manufacturing has been hurt.
Iron ore imports in the world's largest consumer hit a record high last year as low inventories and improved steel margins encouraged mills to book more cargoes.
Moreover, robust steel exports underpinned resilient demand for the key steelmaking ingredient, analysts said.
Imports in December rose 8.2 per cent from the month before to 119.65 million tonnes, the highest for a month, bringing the total in 2025 to a record high of 1.26 billion tonnes with a rise of 1.8 per cent from 2024.
Global iron ore supply is forecast to grow by 2.5 per cent in 2026, and shipments to China are expected to increase by between 36 million and 38 million tonnes, piling pressure on prices this year, said Bai Xin, an analyst at consultancy Horizon Insights.
(Reporting by Amy Lv and Lewis Jackson; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)