In the January-February period this year, China imported 209.452 million mt of iron ore, up 8.1 percent year on year, as announced by the Chinese customs authorities on March 7.
In the first two months, import iron ore prices moved on an overall downtrend amid the slack demand due to the Chinese New Year holiday. In March, the demand has not improved as well as the market players expected, which exerted a negative impact on iron ore prices.