Australia increased exports of iron ore by 8% m/m in August

In August, Australia increased export shipments of iron ore and pellets by 8% compared to July – to 73.5 million tons. This is reported by BigMint with reference to data on the composition of ships.

Compared to the same period in 2023, exports of ore from Australia increased by 2% in August.

As noted, in July, large mines carried out maintenance and had low reserves due to the end of the fiscal year (ended in June). However, in August, they increased ore production to meet the demand for certain raw materials from China.

In August, Australian iron ore exports to China increased by 15% m/m – to 62.4 million tons. Other major importers in the period were South Korea and Japan – 4.1 million tons (-29% m/m) and about 3.9 million tons (-11 m/m), respectively.

In August, Rio Tinto shipped 26.3 million tons of ore, up 3% month-on-month, BHP – 23.4 million tons (+5% m/m), FMG – 19 million tons (+32% m/m).

The average monthly price for Australian iron ore with an iron content of 62% in August fell to $99/t CFR China against $106/t in July. The prices of imported iron ore were significantly affected by the low margins of Chinese steel mills.

As GMK Center reported earlier, the Australian Department of Industry, Science and Resources predicts that iron ore prices will fall to $96/t in 2024. At the same time, they will fall to $84/t in 2025 and $77/t in 2026. The country’s revenue from ore exports is expected to decline to A$114 billion in the 2024-2025 fiscal year, down from A$138 billion in the 2023-2024 fiscal year.