WEEKLY: China mills' imported iron ore usage and stocks both decline

The consumption of imported iron ore sintering fines among 64 Chinese blast-furnace (BF) steelmakers under Mysteel's survey declined during October 23-29 to average 569,400 tonnes/day, according to the latest data. This represented an on-week drop of 32,900 t/d or 5.5%, following a small rebound of 3.2% in the previous week.

The renewed decline in mills' sintering ore fines usage was mainly due to production cuts in response to sluggish steel demand and environmental curbs. In an effort to combat deteriorating air quality, Tangshan, China's top steel-producing hub, implemented a level-2 emergency response staring Monday to October 31. During this period,