According to a report released by the German Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), in 2012 the average import price of iron ore decreased by 22.6 percent year on year in Germany. Destatis noted that the development of prices of metal ores had an impact on the price of metals: in 2012 the import price index for iron and steel and ferroalloys was 6.8 percent below the 2011 level.
In December 2012, the average import price of iron and steel and ferroalloys in Germany fell by 4.9 percent year on year, but rose slightly by 0.1 percent compared to the previous month. In December last year, iron ore prices were 35.2 percent below the December 2011 level. December 2012 was the second consecutive month in which a month-on-month increase was seen in iron ore import prices, with a rise of 4.7 percent compared to November 2012.
Meanwhile, in December the import price of nickel fell by 2.9 percent compared to the same month of last year and was up by 1.8 percent month on month, while in the whole of 2012 the average import nickel price was 16.6 percent lower compared to 2011.