In September this year, China imported 108.547 million mt of iron ore, up 9.25 percent year on year, while up 8.16 percent month on month, as announced by the Chinese customs authorities on October 13. This indicates an improvement from a month-on-month decline in August.
In the January-September period of the current year, iron ore imports in China increased by 10.8 percent year on year to 868.462 million mt, with the year-on-year rise 0.2 percentage points slower than the increase recorded in the first eight months of the year.
Iron ore prices moved down in September, falling to a lowest level of $113.7/mt CFR on September 23, though edging up later to $123/mt CFR on September 30 amid stock replenishment ahead of the long holiday. Market players think that iron ore prices in October will likely move on a rebounding trend due to good expectations for the steel market prospects as October is also part of the traditional peak season for business, though there may be a decline in demand for iron ore due to steel production restrictions in China.