In the January-April period this year, China’s iron ore production amounted to 326.777 million mt, decreasing by 1.0 percent year on year, according to China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
In the first four months this year, import iron ore prices moved down first, increased later, while fluctuating within a limited range in April. The lowest iron ore price level of $98.7/mt during the given period was seen on February 24, while the highest level of $111.3/mt was observed on March 17, according to SteelOrbis’ data. In April, iron ore prices reached a highest level of $109.85/mt on April 1, while later moving down to the lowest level of $105.95/mt on April 9, after which prices moved on an overall uptrend until mid-May, when iron ore prices started to soften due to slack demand from downstream users and decreasing finished steel prices amid prevailing cautious sentiments among market players.
In April alone, China’s iron ore production totaled 82.843 million mt, down 3.5 percent year on year, while up 4.0 percent month on month.