China’s imports of iron ore increased by 1.3 percent year on year to 262.732 million mt in the January-March period this year, with the year-on-year rise 0.2 percentage points slower than that recorded in the first two months of the year, as announced by the Chinese customs authorities.
In March alone, China imported 85.913 million mt of iron ore, with the volume down 0.6 percent compared to the same month last year.
Iron ore prices fluctuated at a high level in March amid improved finished steel demand from downstream industries in China. Moreover, possible iron ore production cuts and the negative impact on transportation of iron ore due to the coronavirus pandemic worldwide raised the concerns of steelmakers and traders, and so some of them chose to increase their iron ore purchases for April delivery, which bolstered prices of the raw material.