U.S. steel imports fell 51.6% to 1,182.952 tons in August 2020 from a month earlier, according to preliminary statistics released by the U.S. Commerce Department on Friday.

Major mills announced capacity shutdowns throughout April and May expecting an annual contraction of demand by at least 30%.

On a month-on-month basis, output was down 3.7%, while sales rose 3.5%.

The US Department of Commerce adopted a final rule Sept. 11 to modernize the Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis (SIMA) system, it said in a statement.

China's domestic steel margins have slumped since the start of September due to high iron ore prices and a "correction" in finished steel prices, S&P Global Platts data shows.

Strong demand from the property sector was lending some support to long steel, aluminum and copper markets in September, market sources said.

Only 18% of respondents expected their iron ore requirements to increase in Q4.

Market sources were not surprised by the announcement.