Brazil’s December iron ore exports registered a record volume of 37.39 million mt, following a strong decrease in the commodity’s price, according to data released by the nation’s secretariat of foreign trade (Secex).
Exports of the product increased 15.5 percent in December from 31.81 million mt a year ago, according to Secex. In November, iron ore exports reached 25.96 million mt. From January to December, iron ore shipments reached 344.38 million mt, 4.5 percent up year on year.
According to Camex, iron ore was exported from Brazil at FOB $53.30/mt in December 2014, almost half the FOB $100.80/mt price registered a year before, according to Secex data.
Late in December, Standard Bank strategist Melinda Moore said in a statement that “Vale is letting go of some stockpiled materials ahead of the expected rainy season.” It also said Vale could add 10 million mt overall to 2015's output with the recent start-up at the Carajas N4WS mine.
Standard Bank’s comments follow data from the bank, which said Brazilian iron ore shipments had increased 31 percent week-on-week to 8.33 million mt in the latest week of December. The bank said that was the highest level in 2014.