In the January-August period this year, China imported 722.922 million mt of iron ore, down 3.1 percent year on year, as announced by the Chinese customs authorities on September 7.
In August alone, China imported 96.208 million mt of iron ore, down 1.3 percent year on year, while up 5.4 percent month on month.
In August, iron ore prices moved down sharply in early August amid decreasing iron ore futures prices at Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) and rising supplies. Later iron ore prices indicated a rebounding trend until mid-August amid the increasing capacity utilization rates of blast furnaces in China. However, iron ore prices softened again later in the month due to relatively high inventory levels.
