China's steel exports soared in the first half of the year, supported by weakening yuan and competitive product prices, but a slowing global economic growth and trade conflicts may dampen the second-half performance, said a trade body on Saturday.

The whole year's export is expected to reach around 80 million metric tons, up from 67.32 million tons last year, according to estimates from the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA), a non-profit organization that has 348 member companies in the sector.

In the first half, China exported 43.58 million tons of steel, a year-on-year growth of 31.3 percent. Steel billet exports witnessed a surge of 112.6 percent on a yearly basis, reaching 1.67 million tons, according to the General Administration of Customs.

Analysis from the CISA showed that steel exports to Brazil, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia,and Turkiye all grew over 60 percent in the first six months.

Tan Chengxu, head of the CISA, said the increase in steel exports during the first half showed strong international competitiveness and growth potential of Chinese steel enterprises.

Tan warned that challenges from a slowing global economy and rising trade protectionism in some markets may dampen growth in steel exports in the second half.

Tan said that steel export may maintain resilience in the short term supported by the depreciation of yuan against the US dollar. However, impacted by reducing steel prices, an increasing number of overseas buyers are starting to have a "wait and see" attitude. Coupled with surging orders in the first half, there is a weakening overseas demand which may keep a lid on the export growth of the material.

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