NBS: China's Jan-May ROM iron ore output drops 3.5% YoY

China's run-of-mine (ROM) iron ore production during January-May this year totaled 397.1 million tonnes, lower by 3.5% compared with the same period last year, according to the latest statistics from the country's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

While earlier NBS figures showed a narrower decline of just 1% for the first four months, the accelerated contraction over the five-month period was mainly driven by last month's sharp drop in output, Mysteel Global observes. In May alone, China's ROM iron ore production tumbled 13.5% on year to 74.2