According to China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in the January-March period of the current year China’s iron ore production amounted to 234.549 million mt, increasing by 21.6 percent year on year.
In March alone, iron ore production reached 81.75 million mt, up 7.3 percent year on year.
Import iron ore prices moved on an overall downtrend in March, with the highest level of $178/mt CFR being seen on March 4, while they fell to their lowest level for the month at $156/mt CFR on March 22 due to slack demand amid production restrictions. However, import iron ore prices have indicated a rising trend in April due to better demand during the peak season for business.
As previously reported by SteelOrbis, in the first quarter this year China’s iron ore imports increased by 8.0 percent year on year to 283.435 million mt, while in March alone China imported 102.109 million mt of iron ore, up 18.86 percent year on year.