Cliffs Natural Resources CEO: China Steel Exports Reach 'Crazy' Levels
08/20/2015 - Chinese-made steel exports are likely to surge to more than 100 million metric tons this year, Cliffs Natural Resources CEO Lourenco Goncalves told BloombergBusiness.
In an interview, Goncalves, who runs the largest iron ore producer in the U.S., told the news service that low iron ore prices will encourage Chinese mills to produce more steel than China needs.
“Australia continues to give iron ore to China almost for free, allowing them to produce more than they need,” he told Bloomberg. "It's like a bad virus."
Blooomberg reported that Chinese steel exports rose 27 percent to 62.13 million tons in the first seven months of this year, a record for the period.
“What China is exporting alone is bigger than the second-biggest producer of steel in the world: it is crazy,” Goncalves told Bloomberg. “With the massive sales of iron ore to China -- enabling China to produce a lot more than China actually needs for consumption -- there’s a glut of exports.”
“Australia continues to give iron ore to China almost for free, allowing them to produce more than they need,” he told Bloomberg. "It's like a bad virus."
Blooomberg reported that Chinese steel exports rose 27 percent to 62.13 million tons in the first seven months of this year, a record for the period.
“What China is exporting alone is bigger than the second-biggest producer of steel in the world: it is crazy,” Goncalves told Bloomberg. “With the massive sales of iron ore to China -- enabling China to produce a lot more than China actually needs for consumption -- there’s a glut of exports.”
