GACC: China's iron ore imports grow 7% in Jan-Apr
China's iron ore imports continued to perform strongly last month, Mysteel Global noted. In April alone, ore imports jumped by 12.8% on year to reach 101.8 million tonnes, the GACC data showed.
The uptick in iron ore shipments from both mainstream and non-mainstream suppliers contributed to the growth in China's import volume last month, Mysteel Global learned.
On the other hand, domestic blast furnace (BF) steelmakers lifted their production rapidly during April as they could enjoy better profits on steel sales, Mysteel's survey showed. This translated to stronger iron ore demand and gave a boost to import volumes during April, a Shanghai source said.
During last month, daily production of hot metal among the 247 BF steel producers under Mysteel's regular tracking averaged 2.27 million tonnes/day, rising 2.3% on month.
However, steel market fundamentals in China improved only mildly last month, even though steel consumption in April is usually brisk with the arrival of spring, as reported.
The lacklustre market prompted domestic BF mills to opt for caution and keep their feed stocks low to avoid any financial risks, Mysteel's other survey showed.
Consequently, the inventories of imported iron ore at Chinese ports mounting steadily last month, with the total of imported ore stocks across the 45 domestic major ports Mysteel monitors standing at a two-year high of 1.48 million tonnes by the end of April, higher by 2.3% on month.
The climb in port inventories of iron ore, plus the relatively weak steel market fundamentals, will likely limit further growth in China's iron ore imports this month, Mysteel Global noted.
Written by Anthea Shi, shihui@mysteel.com
Edited by Russ McCulloch, russ.mcculloch@mysteel.com
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