With new iron ore contract prices traditionally taking effect as of April 1, and given the strong increases anticipated in the new annual prices and also taking into the account the current increases in international iron ore prices, market insiders in China anticipate that the country's iron ore imports in March this year could reach an all-time record high of approximately 60 million mt.
Meanwhile, according to the latest available data from China's National Bureau of Statistics, China imported 46.62 million mt of iron ore in January, up 13.97 million mt or 59 percent year on year, but down 15.54 million mt month on month.
Market insiders in China anticipate that the volume of iron ore imports will continue its downtrend on a month-on-month basis in February, before rising strongly in March.