In 2020, iron ore imports in China increased by 9.5 percent or 101 million mt year on year, reaching 1.1701 billion mt, with the year-on-year rise 1.4 percentage points slower than that recorded in the first 11 months of the last year, as announced by the Chinese customs authorities on January 14. Higher crude steel production and consumption in China supported strong iron ore imports.
In December of the same year, China imported 96.746 million mt of iron ore, down 4.5 percent year on year, while declining by 1.43 percent month on month.
In December, iron ore prices moved on an overall uptrend first, reached a peak level of $175/mt CFR on December 21, while they fluctuated within a limited range later in the month. It is thought that import iron ore prices in China will likely move on a fluctuating trend at high levels ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday as steel mills will likely build up stocks.