[Ferro-Alloys.com] Chinese steelmakers were not keen to chase export business last week, due to hot domestic sales and the uncertainties still hanging about whether the steel export tax rebates would be cut, industry sources said.

"Export trading has been very slack recently. All players are waiting for a definite decision on the tax rebate cuts," an industry source based in Beijing observed. The price disparity between the overseas and domestic markets has been widening, he acknowledged.

As of April 2, average price of SS400 HRC sold to the ASEAN region was $845/tonne CFR, while on the same day, the Q235B HRC price in Shanghai was Yuan 5,520/t ($842.7/t) including the 13% VAT.

The total volume of iron ore dispatched to global destinations from the 19 ports and 16 mining companies in both Australia and Brazil under weekly tracking reversed down 4 million tonnes or 14.4% on week to 24 million tonnes over March 29-April 4, and both origins posted drops in shipment volumes.

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