In the January-April period this year, China imported 384.684 million mt of iron ore, up 8.6 percent year on year, as announced by the Chinese customs authorities.
In April alone, China imported 90.442 million mt of iron ore, down 9.8 percent month on month, while up 5.1 percent year on year.
Finished steel prices in China indicated a rising trend until mid-March amid improved demand from downstream users, while they then declined until late April amid the declining trends seen in iron ore prices and ferrous metal futures prices. In April, the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) urged steelmakers to reduce production, aiming to ease the pressure from supply side, and this exerted a negative impact on iron ore prices due to the lower demand for iron ore.
