P.M. BRIEFING : Japan’s Steel Exports Off 14.5%

Japan’s steel exports in July fell 14.5% from a year ago to 1.441 million tons, largely due to sluggish sales to the Soviet Union and China, the Japan Iron and Steel Federation said today.

The federation said exports to the Soviet Union plunged 85.2% and those to China plummeted 49.5%.

Exports to the United States fell 12.9% to 287,000 tons while those to Taiwan decreased 19.9% to 138,000 tons, the federation said. Exports to South Korea dipped 1% to 145,000 tons, it said. The federation said sales to the Soviet Union and China for the first seven months of this year fell more than 60% from the same period of 1989.