According to the Chinese customs authorities, China's iron ore imports in April this year totaled 57.69 million mt, down 8.24 percent month on month but up 9.10 percent year on year. Meanwhile, the value of the imports in question totaled $8.009 billion, down 5.60 percent year on year due to lower iron ore prices.
In the first four months of the current year, China's total iron ore imports amounted to 245.31 million mt, up 6.63 percent compared with 230.052 million mt in the same period last year. Meanwhile, the value of China's iron ore imports in January-April came to $33.731 billion, down 6.90 percent compared with $36.230 billion in the same period last year. In April, the average iron ore import price was $138.8/mt, up $0.6/mt compared with $138.2/mt in March and down $21.7/mt year on year.
Meanwhile, China's average daily crude steel output in April reached 2.0258 million mt, up two percent month on month, and constituting an all-time record. In the January-April period, the average monthly iron ore import volume was 61.3275 million mt, while it is expected that China's iron ore imports in the current year will total 720-730 million mt.