The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan expectsthat the fourth quarter of Japan's crude steel output will benefit from thestrong demand of the domestic automotive industry, industrial and constructionmachinery industry, and is expected to achieve year-on-year growth. Japan’sMinistry of Economy, Trade and Industry predicts that Japan’s crude steeloutput will rise to 26.45 million tons in the fourth quarter, up 0.2%year-on-year, while production in the third quarter fell slightly. About 40% ofJapan's steel output is exported. Although the Sino-US trade war is escalatingand the United States imposes high tariffs on imported steel, Japan's steelexports in the third quarter are expected to rise by 0.5% year-on-year.

Last month, the United States imposed tariffs on Chineseproducts worth 200 billion U.S. dollars. China also imposed retaliatory tariffson US goods worth 60 billion U.S. dollars.Earlier, China and the United Stateshad already imposed import tariffs on each other's goods worth $50 billion.