China increased iron ore imports by 11% y/y in December

In December 2023, Chinese steel companies increased iron ore imports by 11% compared to the same period in 2022 – to 100.9 million tons. This is reported by SteelOrbis with reference to the Chinese customs authorities.

Iron ore imports decreased by 1.8% compared to November 2023.

In 2023, Chinese steelmakers increased iron ore imports by 6.6% compared to 2022 – up to 1.179 billion tons.

Iron ore prices were volatile in December. In the first half of the month, raw material quotations initially rose, but then declined. In the last ten days of December, prices recovered again amid expectations of replenishment of ore stocks before the New Year holidays. At the same time, steelmakers’ iron ore stocks were relatively low, which supported the positive trend in the market at the end of the year.

As GMK Center reported earlier, in January-November 2023, China increased iron ore production by 7.1% compared to the same period in 2022 – up to 904.03 million tons. In November, iron ore production increased by 6.6% compared to November 2022, and decreased by 1.1% compared to the previous month – to 85.57 million tons.

Also, iron ore prices on the Dalian Exchange reached $138/t at the end of 2023. On the Singapore Exchange, January iron ore futures stood at $140.2/t as of December 27, 2023. In the last decade of December, iron ore prices rose sharply due to optimistic news from Chinese state-owned banks and strong demand. Five of China’s largest banks cut interest rates on some deposits, which helped to increase liquidity.