China increased iron ore imports by 6.7% y/y in January-July

In January-July 2024, steel companies of China increased the import of iron ore by 6.7% compared to the same period in 2023 – to 713.77 million tons. This is evidenced by the data of the Chinese Steel Association CISA.

During July, local steelmakers imported 102.81 million tons of iron ore, which is 5.3% more compared to the previous month, and 10% more than July 2023. At the same time, the volume of imports was lower than the expectations of market analysts at the level of 103-110 million tons.

Last month’s hot weather conditions had a negative impact on construction activity, reducing demand for steel and, by extension, iron ore. Prices for raw materials fell by 6-7% for the month. In particular, as of July 27, September futures on the Dalian Exchange amounted to 779 yuan/t ($107.45/t), and on the Singapore Exchange – $101.85/t.

At the same time, quotes started to recover in early August thanks to better-than-expected industrial fundamentals and hopes of stimulus measures following several key government meetings.

As GMK Center reported earlier, in 2023, China increased the export of metal products by 36.2% compared to 2022 – to 90.3 million tons. Steel imports to China amounted to 7.64 million tons, which is 27.6% less y/y. The import of ore for the year increased by 6.6% compared to 2022 – up to 1.179 billion tons.

In 2023, China produced 1.019 billion tons of steel, up 0.6% from 2022. The downward trend in the country’s metallurgical industry has stopped after two consecutive years of production decline.