WEEKLY: China's import iron ore prices drop

Although Chinese steel mills lifted their production last week, prices of imported iron ore still recorded notable declines as steel consumption among end-users was relatively weak given that March is usually a peak demand month in mid-spring.

Mysteel's tracking of the 247 Chinese integrated mills it regularly checks showed that their daily combined output of hot metal averaged 2.36 million tonnes/day during the week of March 14-20, higher by a marked 2.5% from the prior survey period. The significant rise in hot metal output was attributed to