{
  "id": 9414411,
  "title": "Steel flows face fresh challenges in the final quarter of 2026",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/steel-flows-face-fresh-challenges-in-the-final-quarter-of-2026",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-09-23T21:00:55.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Hellenic Shipping News",
    "slug": "hellenic-shipping-news",
    "url": "https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/steel-flows-face-fresh-challenges-in-the-final-quarter-of-2026/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Steel flows experienced a slight decline in July 2026, with global volumes falling 1% year-over-year to 22.2 million tonnes, according to Signal Group. China's share of global steel flows rose to 45.7%, up from 41.6% in July 2025, largely due to a 9.1% increase in Chinese exports. Flows from the rest of the world, excluding China, decreased by 7.9% to 12.0 million tonnes.\n\nIndia saw a remarkable 51% increase in steel exports year-over-year in July 2026, but its absolute export volume remained considerably smaller than China's. The rise in Indian exports was driven by strong domestic demand and the encouragement for steel mills to increase production overseas due to the impact of lower-cost steel imports on domestic margins.\n\nLooking ahead into the final quarter of 2026, market dynamics are expected to persist. The Arabian Peninsula's share of global steel imports has declined from an average of 6.4% between 2022 and 2025 to 4.4% in 2026, negatively affecting China, which typically sent 10% of its steel exports to the region but saw this figure drop to 5.3% in 2026. China's steel exports may also face new challenges with the EU's upcoming \"Melt and Pour\" origin rules, taking effect on October 1st. These rules will track the absolute origin of crude steel, potentially cutting off the practice of nations buying lower-cost Chinese steel, rerolling it, and selling it as 'local' steel in the EU.\n\nTurkey is the most vulnerable to the EU's new regulations, as it imports around 20% of its steel demand from China and exports about 28% of its steel to the Mediterranean region. The combination of reduced demand from the Arabian Peninsula and new EU regulations poses significant headwinds for Chinese steel exports in the final quarter of 2026.",
  "summary": "Steel flows slip into negative growth in July 2026 • Global steel flows fall 1% y/y in July 2026 to reach 22.2 Mt. • China’s share of global steel flows rises from 41.6% in July 2025 to 45.7% in July 2026, driven by a 9.1% increase in exports. • Flows from the World Ex. China ...",
  "key_points": [
    "Global steel flows declined 1% YoY in July 2026 to 22.2 million tonnes.",
    "China's share of global steel flows rose to 45.7% in July 2026.",
    "EU's origin rules for steel may challenge China's exports in Q4 2026."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}