MYSTEEL: Oversupply to keep China's import iron ore prices soft in '25

A protracted supply surplus in the country's iron ore market will keep China's prices for imported iron ore under downward pressure this year, Mysteel predicts in its newly published annual report for the commodity. Global ore miners will continue to ramp up production while demand for the raw material among Chinese mills is likely to shrink further, it warns.

Iron ore was one of the worst-performing major commodities last year, shedding more than a quarter of its value, as steelmakers in China, the world's largest iron ore consumers, still struggled with poor sales to the debt-ridden property sector. The price for 62% Australian iron ore fines averaged $109/dmt throughout 2024, lower by $10/dmt from 2023's average,