In May this year, China imported 89.79 million mt of iron ore, down by 8.9 percent compared to April, due to seasonal factors and lower shipments from Australia in particular.
Nevertheless, the volume in May was still up 3.2 percent year on year.
Iron ore prices first increased in May, hitting the highest level of the month at $235/mt CFR on May 12. Following sharp increases, China’s central government issued measures to curb rapid rises in commodity prices, resulting in a declining trend of iron ore prices later in May, which fell to their lowest level of the month at $178/mt CFR on May 26.
In the January-May period of the year, iron ore imports in China increased by 6 percent year on year, reaching 471.765 million mt, as announced by the Chinese customs authorities on June 7.
$1 = RMB 6.3909