China reduced iron ore production by 3.2% y/y in January-October

According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China (NBS), Chinese mining companies reduced iron ore production by 3.2% year-on-year to 851.74 million tons in January-October 2025, SteelOrbis reports.

In October, ore production in the country amounted to 84.03 million tons, which is 0.3% less on an annualized basis and 2.9% less than in the previous month.

Over the past month, iron ore import prices initially rose slightly, then the trend reversed, but at the end of the month, prices recovered again. The lowest level of futures on the Dalian Exchange was $107/t, and the highest was $113/t.

As a reminder, iron ore imports to China amounted to 1.03 billion tons in 10 months, which is 0.7% more than in the same period of 2024. In October, the figure decreased by 4.3% month-on-month to 111.31 million tons. The average price was $100.6/t (+3.7% month-on-month).

As reported by GMK Center, Chinese steel companies reduced steel production in October by 12% compared to October 2024, to 72 million tons. Compared to the previous month, the figure decreased by 2%. This is the fifth consecutive decline in monthly smelting volume, as a result of which steel production in January–October this year decreased to 818 million tons (-4% y/y).

According to the forecast of the China Iron and Steel Association, steel production in China will decline by 4% y/y in 2025. This is in line with Beijing’s policy of trying to reduce the economy’s dependence on heavy industry and solve the problem of excess production capacity.