By Neha Arora

       NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's finished steel imports from China touched a five-year high in the first four months of the fiscal year that began in April, according to provisional government data reviewed by Reuters.

       During April-July, China was the second-biggest steel exporter to India, selling 0.6 million metric tons, up 62% from the same period a year earlier.

       In all, India imported 2 million metric tons of finished steel in the period, the highest since 2020 and up 23% from a year earlier.

       China, the world's top steel producer, exported mostly cold- rolled coil or sheets to India.

       South Korea was the top exporter to India, shipping out 0.7 million metric tons and accounting for 35% of overall steel imports.

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       India, the world's second-biggest crude steel producer, was however a net exporter of finished steel between April and July, with 2.6 million metric tons sold to buyers including Italy, Spain, Belgium, Nepal and the UAE, the data showed.

       India's crude steel production stood at 45.8 million metric tons in April-July, up 11.5% from a year earlier.

       Consumption of finished steel was 41.2 million metric tons, up 12.2% on the year.

       (Reporting by Neha Arora; Editing by Mayank Bhardwaj and John Stonestreet)

       (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)