MONTHLY: Production recovery to support China iron ore prices in April

Prices for imported iron ore in China are expected to continue rising during the first half of April, underpinned by geopolitical tensions and, more importantly, the resumption of hot metal production among domestic steel mills, according to Mysteel's latest monthly report on the commodity. However, the report also cautions that downside risks are likely to emerge later in the month, as mill production is expected to retreat from a peak.

Over the past month, output among Chinese steelmakers remained subdued due to a slow recovery in steel demand and intermittent production curbs in North China mandated to tackle poor air quality, as reported. Mysteel's tracking of the 247 Chinese blast-furnace steelmakers it regularly checks showed that their average daily combined