China’s iron ore imports fell 4.2% in October, registering a second consecutive month of decline, customs data showed on Sunday as steel production constrains demand for the raw material.
The world’s largest consumer of iron ore imported 91.61 million tonnes of the product last month, compared to 95.61 million in September, according to data from the General Administration of Customs.
The number also represents a 14.2% drop from October 2020, after the government tightened environmental controls and demand for steel products weakened.
“In the coming years, China’s energy consumption controls will continue to weigh on its crude steel production and will also affect its demand for imported iron ore,” GF Futures told customers in a note ahead of the data.
Prices of the most traded iron ore futures contracts on the Dalian Commodities Exchange have fallen by about half since a mid-May peak of 1,227 yuan ($191.90) per tonne.
GF Futures expects China’s iron ore imports to fall by 5% to 7% in the second half of the year as steel production declines.
In the first ten months of 2021, China imported 933.48 million tonnes of iron ore, down 4.2% year-on-year.
Reference: CNN Brasil
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