Australia's iron ore exports still on track

Australia’s iron ore exports still on track

Australia's iron ore exports continued to show an upward trend despite the fact many Chinese steel mills have chosen to defer shipments of iron ore. Recent reports indicate that Australia's iron ore exports totaled 20.4 million tons in June, just below March's record 20.8 million tons. Australia's largest exporters, BHP Billiton (BHP) and Rio Tinto (RIO), indicated that they see no signs of demand slowing even though Chinese steel mills have been deferring shipments of iron ore due to the large stock piles at the ports. On the other hand, the country's coking coal exports fell 7 percent month on month to 7.1 million tons in June. However, BHP said that demand is still relatively strong for coking coal. Finally, thermal coal exports dropped 8 percent month on month to 8.1 million tons in June. Many producers have opted to produce semi-soft coals rather than thermal coals due to the profit higher margins.